Bitcoin Whale Holdings Increase Amid Market Shifts
According to Cointelegraph, recent data reveals that Bitcoin's largest holders, known as whales, are reaccumulating coins following a period of significant distribution. This shift comes after the most substantial selloff since early 2023, with whale balances showing an upward trend. Meanwhile, mid-sized holders continue to reduce their exposure.
Whale addresses have added 46,000 BTC this week, marking a positive one-year net change for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2025. In contrast, dolphin addresses, which include exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and corporate treasury entities, have further reduced their holdings to 589,000 BTC, continuing a multi-month decline in demand. Historically, dolphin flows have had a significant impact on Bitcoin's price, but whale accumulation has often preceded major rallies.
Last week, a report from CryptoQuant highlighted a decline of 220,000 BTC in the one-year net change for whale addresses holding between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC. This drawdown followed a cycle high of 400,000 BTC in net accumulation recorded in December 2024, marking the steepest negative shift in the one-year change since early 2023. However, this week saw a reversal, with whale addresses registering an increase of 46,000 BTC in one-year change for total holdings, a 21% rise that pushed the metric back into positive territory for the first time since November 2025.
The outlook for the dolphin cohort, defined as addresses holding 100–1,000 BTC, remains less optimistic. The one-year change in total dolphin holdings peaked at a net increase of 972,000 BTC on October 4, 2025, before declining to 634,000 BTC last week. This week, balances fell further to 589,000 BTC, extending the drawdown to nearly 38% from the peak and confirming a sustained slowdown in demand.
Whale and dolphin accumulation cycles have shown structural misalignment. During the current bull run, the highest positive one-year change in total whale holdings peaked in June 2024 at approximately 260,000 BTC, while dolphin balances were near 11,000 BTC. Since then, dolphin holdings, largely driven by ETFs, expanded sharply to 970,000 BTC by October 2025 before entering a steep contraction. From a price-impact perspective, dolphin flows have exerted greater influence this cycle due to their scale. However, whale accumulation has historically initiated key upside moves, positioning the recent whale rebound as a potential early structural signal rather than a short-term price catalyst.
