As of Thursday, 19,993 wallets held 100 BTC or more, each worth roughly $6.71 million. Santiment expects this number to surpass 20,000 by Friday. The platform stated, “An increase in 100+ BTC wallets indicates a broader distribution among large holders. Single-hand control is diminishing.”

Bitcoin’s price drop coupled with the growth of 100+ BTC wallets is generally interpreted as a signal of accumulation and potential buying periods.

Whale Distribution and Market Dynamics

Bitcoin is trading around $67,260, down roughly 47% from its $126,100 peak in October. Santiment notes that although new wallets are emerging, the total supply share held by these holders has not significantly changed. Some long-term investors are still selling, keeping prices suppressed. Nevertheless, the growing number of large wallets indicates a potential market recovery.

The rapid increase in whale wallets demonstrates that the market remains active despite the recent decline. Investor interest is rising, and psychological recovery signals are strengthening. Micro-analyses indicate that, in the short term, the market has a healthier distribution. This reduces the risk that a small number of whales can dramatically swing prices and creates a safer environment for long-term holders.

Santiment points out that while new wallets have emerged, the share of total supply hasn’t shifted substantially. The increase in whale wallets shows that, although most supply remains with long-term holders, large holdings are now distributed across more entities.

Have Long-Term Holders Stopped Selling?

The recent sharp pullback was partly driven by profit-taking among long-term investors. Analyst Will Clemente stated on January 14:

“Bitcoin OGs appear to have stopped selling aggressively for now.”

This suggests that current price pressure may ease. Interestingly, while new wallets cross the 100 BTC threshold, the total supply share hasn’t changed much, indicating an ongoing handover process. However, this is not investment advice.

Michaël van de Poppe noted that, in the short term, Bitcoin needs to find a higher low for the upward trend to continue. He added, “So far, so good for Bitcoin.”

The 20,000-wallet milestone is approaching rapidly. Whale distribution is increasing, and price volatility risks are decreasing. These developments send a positive signal to the market.

The post Bitcoin Whales Hit Record: Santiment Signals Bullish Trend appeared first on Coin Engineer.

Exchange Balances Fall While Transfers Climb

At the start of the week, XRP Ledger saw significant activity. Transfers valued at $100,000 or more rose from 2,170 on Monday to 2,802 on Tuesday, marking a three-month high. This indicates active positioning by large investors and a potential for short-term price volatility. Analysts note that declining exchange balances reflect self-custody rather than panic selling.

According to Santiment, daily whale transfers are increasing noticeably. Separate data from CryptoOnchain show Binance’s XRP reserves fell to about 2.6 billion tokens, the lowest level since January 2024. Since late 2025, balances dropped from roughly 3.25 billion Ripple, usually reflecting holders moving coins off-exchange rather than preparing to sell.

Price Action and Technical Outlook

XRP was trading around $2.13 at the time of writing. The token briefly touched $2.40 earlier in the week before general market softening pushed it lower. Still, XRP is up about 16% over the past seven days and 14% in the last two weeks. Analysts highlight support near $2.27 as critical. Technical patterns in the XRP/BTC pairing suggest a relative strength setup unseen since 2018.

What It Means

Short-term price swings are likely, but rising whale transfers and falling exchange balances indicate positioning rather than panic. These dynamics suggest XRP may be preparing for wider price movements in the days ahead.

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The post XRP Whale Transfers Surge Signals Potential Price Moves appeared first on Coin Engineer.