Bitcoin Whale Balances See 21% Bounce After Fastest Sell-off Since... (2026)
Increasing Bitcoin whale balances highlight reaccumulation, aligning with renewed spot BTC ETF inflows. Will $100,000 become support soon?
Data shows Bitcoin’s (BTC) largest holders reaccumulating coins after a period of heavy distribution. Data indicates that whale balances have turned higher following the sharpest selloff since early 2023, while the mid-sized holders continue to reduce exposure.
Whale addresses added 46,000 BTC this week, turning the one-year net change positive for the first time since Q4 2025.
Dolphin addresses, including ETFs and treasury entities, cut holdings further to 589,000 BTC, extending a multi-month slowdown in demand.
Dolphin flows have dominated price impact this cycle, but whale accumulation has historically preceded key rallies.
Last week, CryptoQuant’s report showed that the one-year net change in total holdings for BTC addresses, or “whales,” holding between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC, declined by 220,000 BTC.
This means whale balances fell by that amount compared to the same period a year earlier. The drawdown followed a cycle high in net accumulation of 400,000 BTC recorded in December 2024 and marked the steepest negative shift in the one-year change since early 2023.
The trend shifted this week. Whale addresses registered an uptick of 46,000 BTC in one-year change for total holdings, i.e., a 21% increase, pushing the metric back into positive territory for the first time since November 2025. While the rebound remains modest, the timing is notable following the fastest distribution phase of the current cycle.
The outlook is less constructive for the “dolphin” cohort, defined as addresses holding 100–1,000 BTC, including exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and corporate treasuries. One-year change in total dolphin holdings peaked at a net increase of 972,000 BTC on October 4, 2025, before falling to 634,000 BTC last week.
This week, balances declined further to 589,000 BTC, extending the drawdown to nearly 38% from the peak and confirming a sustained slowdown in demand.
Source: CoinTelegraph
