Very large investors, or whales, holding 10,000 Bitcoin or more are currently the only investors buying the largest cryptocurrency as prices fall.
According to onchain data, all other holding groups are pressing the sell button.
This divergence is highlighted by Glassnode’s Accumulation Trend Score by Wallet Group, which measures the relative behavior of different unit sizes based on both the balance and volume of Bitcoin received over the past 15 days. A score closer to 1 indicates a buy, while a value closer to 0 indicates a sell.
According to Glassnode data, the largest whales are in a “mild accumulation” phase and have maintained a neutral-to-slightly-positive balance trend since Bitcoin dropped to $80,000 in late November. During this period, the price has largely consolidated, trading in a range of $80,000 to $97,000 by the end of January.
According to CoinDesk data, Bitcoin is now trading near $78,000.
In contrast, all small groups are net sellers, especially retail holders of less than 10 BTC. The group has been on a sustained selloff for over a month, reflecting continued declines and risk aversion among small participants.
At the same time, the number of unique entities holding at least 1,000 BTC increased to 1,303 from 1,207 in October.
Since Bitcoin hit all-time high in October, the rise in this group suggests that large holders are buying into the correction. Whales holding at least 1,000 BTC are now back near December 2024 highs, lending credence to the idea that larger players are absorbing supply while smaller holders continue to move out.