According to CryptoQuant’s on-chain data, speculation that Bitcoin whales are in a major re-accumulation phase is greatly exaggerated, suggesting that the digital asset market structure remains virtually unchanged.
A common theory is that large holders are actively purchasing Bitcoin (BTC) is misleading, said Julio Moreno, head of research at CryptoQuant. Much of the publicly shared “whale accumulation” data is skewed by currency-related activity rather than pure investor behavior.
Cryptocurrency exchanges regularly consolidate funds from many small wallets into a few large wallets for operational and regulatory reasons. This process artificially increases the number of wallets holding very large balances, causing on-chain trackers to incorrectly classify the activity as whale accumulation.
sauce: Julio Moreno
Moreno said that when excluding these exchange-related distortions, the data shows that large holders are still distributing Bitcoin rather than accumulating it.
As a result, overall whale balances continue to decline. Owning between 100 and 1,000 addresses BTC has also fallen, a trend that suggests continued outflows from exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
This data is important because Bitcoin whales have a huge impact on the market, and large trades often cause price changes and periods of volatility. However, with the launch of the US Spot Bitcoin ETF, the market structure changed from early 2024, with Bitcoin ETFs emerging as the leading holders of digital assets.
US Spot Bitcoin ETF holds nearly 1.3 million total BTCwhich corresponds to about 6.2% of the total Bitcoin supply. sauce: Vitobo
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Silver lining: long-term holders are accumulating
While debate continues over whether Bitcoin whales are reaccumulating, other on-chain data points to more constructive changes among a closely monitored cohort: long-term holders.
Matthew Siegel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, said long-term Bitcoin holders have started accumulating net worth over the past 30 days following what he called the group’s biggest selling event since 2019.
sauce: Matthew Siegel
This change suggests that one of the most important causes of Bitcoin’s recent selling pressure may be easing, at least in the short term.
Bitcoin price action has yet to reflect a sustained recovery, but the asset has also avoided retesting the sub-$80,000 lows from November. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at just over $90,000.
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