 ▲ Bitcoin is being aggressively accumulated by retail investors alone—when will the whales start moving again? / Gemini-generated image |
Retail investors are aggressively scooping up Bitcoin, but the massive whales that move the market continue to sell, holding back a genuine bullish rally.
According to cryptocurrency-focused outlet CoinDesk on February 21 (local time), as Bitcoin (BTC) hovers in the mid-$60,000 range, a clear divergence has emerged in holdings by investor size. Data from analytics firm Santiment shows that wallets holding less than 0.1 BTC—representing retail investors—have increased their Bitcoin holdings by 2.5% since reaching an all-time high last October, marking the largest share since mid-2024.
In contrast, whale and shark groups that determine the market’s direction—large wallet addresses holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC—have reduced their holdings by 0.8% over the same period. This polarization between retail and large investors is creating an unstable market environment, amplifying price volatility rather than forming a clear upward trend. While retail investors are defending price floors and providing short-term momentum, large investors continue to sell into each rebound, preventing rallies from sustaining.
Just a few weeks ago, the atmosphere was markedly different. When Bitcoin plunged more than 50% from its peak and fell to the $60,000 level on February 5, mid-sized wallets holding between 10 and 100 BTC aggressively stepped in to buy the dip. At the time, Glassnode’s Accumulation Trend Score surged to 0.68—its highest level since late November—signaling that the market had halted panic selling and entered a phase of collective accumulation.
However, Santiment’s broader data set raises questions about this optimism. Although mid-sized wallets absorbed panic selling and joined the buying spree, much larger top-tier whales consistently pressed the sell button whenever prices recovered, dragging the overall net holdings of large wallets into negative territory.
Ultimately, while demand from retail investors in the crypto market has already been clearly demonstrated, a true structural uptrend will require large wallets to halt their selling or shift back to buying. Smaller investors—often referred to as “shrimp”—have already done their part and are now anxiously waiting for the giant whales to rejoin the buying procession.
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