Recent onchain data from CryptoQuant suggests that the prevailing narrative surrounding Bitcoin whales reaccumulating is substantially exaggerated. Julio Moreno, the head of research at CryptoQuant, has pointed out that the belief that major holders are aggressively purchasing Bitcoin (BTC) is misleading. He explains that much of the data circulating about “whale accumulation” is skewed by activity related to cryptocurrency exchanges rather than actual investor behavior.
Moreno elaborates that cryptocurrency exchanges often consolidate funds from numerous smaller wallets into fewer larger wallets for operational efficiency and regulatory compliance. This transfer inflates the number of wallets appearing to hold large amounts of Bitcoin, misleading onchain trackers to interpret the activity as whale accumulation. Once these distortions from exchange-related activities are removed, it becomes clear that large holders are not accumulating Bitcoin; instead, they are continuing to offload their holdings. Consequently, the overall balances of whales have been on the decline, particularly among addresses maintaining between 100 to 1,000 BTC, indicating ongoing outflows associated with exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
This data is particularly noteworthy because Bitcoin whales have historically had a significant impact on the market, with their transactions often driving price movements and heightening volatility. However, the market dynamics have evolved since early 2024, primarily due to the launch of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, which have taken on the role of major holders of the digital asset.
On a more positive note, there are signs of a shift among a specific group of investors: long-term holders. Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, reports that these long-term holders have transitioned to becoming net accumulators over the past month. This change follows what Sigel describes as the largest selling event for this group since 2019, suggesting that one of the significant sources of selling pressure may be easing in the near term.
Although Bitcoin’s price is yet to demonstrate a consistent recovery—it was trading slightly above $90,000 at the time of reporting—the asset has avoided dipping back below its low of under $80,000 recorded in November. All these developments indicate a complex and shifting landscape in the Bitcoin market, with varying behaviors from different classes of investors.
