Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high of $106.5K, marking a historic moment in its 16-year trajectory. As the worlds leading cryptocurrency gained almost 200% this year, there was a key contributing factor to this price surge.

The latest data suggest a notable increase in whale wallet activity that has pushed it to a new milestone.

Bitcoins Record Finds Support From Whales

Since the bull rally began on October 10th, the number of addresses holding at least 100 BTC has climbed from 16,062 to 17,644 a net gain of 1,582 wallets, reflecting a substantial 9.9% increase in just nine weeks.

According to Santiment analysis on Monday, this surge in whale accumulation has coincided with a 77% jump in Bitcoins price, highlighting the strong correlation between growing investor confidence among large holders and the assets upward momentum.

The latest BTC rally followed comments from President-elect Donald Trump indicating his intention to form a US Bitcoin strategic reserve similar to the countrys oil stockpile.

The announcement ignited excitement among cryptocurrency bulls, fueling the record-breaking rally. Many industry watchers suggest Bitcoin has entered Santa Claus mode, with a surge in buying as investors fear missing out and aim to allocate more funds to the asset class.

Bitcoins Santa Claus Rally

Since the November 5 election, where Trump and numerous pro-crypto candidates won, Bitcoin has gained more than 50%.

Historically, December is viewed as a bullish month for the asset, but the Santa Claus Rally—defined as gains during the last five trading days of the year and the first two of January—has shown mixed performance in the crypto market. Between 2014 and 2023, Bitcoin rallied seven times before Christmas and five times afterward, recording returns of 0.20% to 13.19% pre-Christmas and 0.33% to 10.86% post-Christmas.

Yet, the pattern remains inconsistent; for instance, in 2017, Bitcoin plunged 21.30% pre-Christmas during the post-ICO market correction. Still, December as a whole has averaged returns of 9.48%, as per CoinGeckos findings.