Growth in Small Wallet Holdings on Bitcoin

According to data from Santiment, wallets holding less than 0.1 BTC — typically associated with retail participants — have increased their total holdings by 2.5% since Bitcoin’s October peak of $126,100. This cohort’s share of total supply has climbed to its highest level since mid-2024.

The trend suggests that individual investors are viewing recent pullbacks as buying opportunities. In particular, after Bitcoin dropped toward $60,000 on February 5, smaller and mid-sized wallets showed signs of renewed accumulation. Retail participants appear willing to step in during periods of weakness, helping establish a potential price floor.

Large Holders Reduce Exposure

In contrast, wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC — often categorized as whales and sharks — have reduced their holdings by approximately 0.8% over the same period. Historically, sustained price trends tend to require alignment from this larger capital base.

During the sharp February sell-off, Glassnode’s Accumulation Trend Score rose to 0.68, marking the strongest broad-based accumulation signal since late November. This metric evaluates the relative strength of accumulation across wallet sizes over a 15-day period, with values closer to 1 indicating accumulation and values near 0 signaling distribution. At that time, the 10–100 BTC cohort stood out as aggressive dip buyers.

However, when examining Santiment’s broader 10–10,000 BTC range, net positioning since October remains negative. One possible interpretation is that mid-sized wallets accumulated during panic conditions, while the largest holders continued selling into subsequent recoveries, offsetting those gains.

What’s Needed for a Sustainable Rally?

Retail investors can help stabilize prices and generate short-term momentum. But durable uptrends typically require meaningful participation from large holders prepared to absorb supply.

At this stage, Bitcoin may not need an influx of new retail capital — that segment is already active. Instead, the key variable is whether large wallets stop distributing and begin accumulating again. Without that shift, each rally attempt risks being met with renewed selling pressure.

Smaller investors are doing their part. The market’s next decisive move likely depends on whether the whales decide to follow.

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The post Retail Is Buying Bitcoin — But What Are the Whales Doing? appeared first on Coin Engineer.

Ethereum Price Under Sustained Pressure

Ethereum has struggled to maintain momentum in recent weeks. Over the past seven days, ETH has fallen by more than 10%, wiping out all gains recorded earlier in the year. At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading near $2,913, marking a year-to-date decline of roughly 5%.

This price weakness has unfolded amid broader market uncertainty, creating conditions where whale decisions carry increased influence over short-term price dynamics.

Accumulation Signals From Large Holders

On-chain data indicates that several large investors are treating the recent pullback as a buying opportunity. One notable OTC-linked wallet, identified as 0xFB7, acquired 20,000 ETH in a single move, representing an investment of approximately $56 million. Over the past five days, the same address has accumulated a total of 70,013 ETH, worth more than $200 million.

This accumulation trend extends beyond a single wallet. Recently, whales collectively added over 350,000 ETH in just one day. At the same time, Ethereum balances held on centralized exchanges continue to decline, suggesting that a portion of this supply is being moved into long-term storage rather than positioned for immediate sale.

Rotation and Distribution Add Complexity

While accumulation remains evident, not all whale activity supports a bullish narrative. Some large investors are actively reshaping their portfolios. The DeFi project World Liberty Financial shifted part of its exposure from Bitcoin to Ethereum, swapping 93.77 WBTC for 2,868 ETH. Another whale followed a similar rotation, selling 120 BTC to acquire 3,623 ETH.

Conversely, an early Ethereum holder reactivated after nearly nine years of inactivity, transferring 50,000 ETH to the Gemini exchange. Although the wallet still retains 85,000 ETH, such a large exchange deposit often raises concerns about potential profit-taking or portfolio rebalancing.

Network Fundamentals Remain Strong

Despite mixed whale behavior and price consolidation, Ethereum’s network metrics paint a more constructive picture. The seven-day average of active Ethereum addresses has reached a record high of 718,000. This divergence between stagnant price action and rising network participation has historically preceded upward price movements.

Growth in Layer-2 usage, ongoing DeFi activity, and expanding user engagement continue to reinforce Ethereum’s long-term fundamentals. While whale activity remains divided, the underlying network data suggests that Ethereum’s broader value proposition remains intact.

This content is not investment advice. Cryptocurrencies involve significant risk, and investment decisions should be based on individual research.

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