Bitcoin Whales Step Back Into the Market as Accumulation Signals Grow

Whale activity is rising, suggesting strategic positioning amid bitcoin’s recent pullback. Over the past week, the number of entities holding at least 1,000 BTC climbed to 1,436, even as bitcoin remained below $100,000.

This marks a reversal from much of 2025, during which long-term holders, or “OGs,” were steady net sellers. For context, this cohort peaked at over 1,500 entities in November 2024 during the post-election bull run following Donald Trump’s victory, before declining to roughly 1,300 by October 2025.

Historically, rises in large-holder entities have preceded rallies. In January 2024, ahead of the U.S. ETF launch, the number of 1,000+ BTC holders increased from 1,380 to 1,512, with bitcoin ultimately topping $70,000 a few months later.

Supporting this trend, Glassnode’s Accumulation Trend Score—which tracks coin acquisition across wallet cohorts while excluding exchanges and miners—shows growing buying pressure. A score near 1 indicates accumulation, while near 0 signals distribution.

For the first time since August, whales holding more than 10,000 BTC are no longer heavy sellers, with their score stabilizing around 0.5. Entities with 1,000–10,000 BTC are showing modest accumulation. Meanwhile, the strongest buying activity is coming from holders with 100–1,000 BTC and wallets with less than 1 BTC, signaling broad-based conviction that bitcoin is undervalued at current levels.

Overall, the data indicates growing interest from both large and small entities, suggesting the market may be positioning for a potential rebound despite recent weakness.