Bitcoin whale balances see 21% bounce after fastest sell-off since 2023 ends

Data shows Bitcoin’s (BTC) largest holders reaccumulating coins after a period of heavy distribution. Data indicates that whale balances have turned higher following the sharpest selloff since early 2023, while the mid-sized holders continue to reduce exposure.

Key takeaways:

• Whale addresses added 46,000 BTC this week, turning the one-year net change positive for the first time since Q4 2025.

• Dolphin addresses, including ETFs and treasury entities, cut holdings further to 589,000 BTC, extending a multi-month slowdown in demand.

• Dolphin flows have dominated price impact this cycle, but whale accumulation has historically preceded key rallies.

Bitcoin whale balances turn positive after record drawdown

Last week, CryptoQuant’s report showed that the one-year net change in total holdings for BTC addresses, or “whales,” holding between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC, declined by 220,000 BTC.

This means whale balances fell by that amount compared to the same period a year earlier. The drawdown followed a cycle high in net accumulation of 400,000 BTC recorded in December 2024 and marked the steepest negative shift in the one-year change since early 2023.

The trend shifted this week. Whale addresses registered an uptick of 46,000 BTC in one-year change for total holdings, i.e., a 21% increase, pushing the metric back into positive territory for the first time since November 2025. While the rebound remains modest, the timing is notable following the fastest distribution phase of the current cycle.

The outlook is less constructive for the “dolphin” cohort, defined as addresses holding 100–1,000 BTC, including exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and corporate treasuries. One-year change in total dolphin holdings peaked at a net increase of 972,000 BTC on October 4, 2025, before falling to 634,000 BTC last week.

This week, balances declined further to 589,000 BTC, extending the drawdown to nearly 38% from the peak and confirming a sustained slowdown in demand.

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Whale and dolphin accumulation cycles have remained structurally misaligned. In the current bull run, the highest positive one-year change in total whale holdings peaked in June 2024 at roughly 260,000 BTC, when the dolphin balances had stood near 11,000 BTC.

Since then, the dolphin holdings, driven largely by ETFs, expanded sharply to 970,000 BTC by October 2025 before entering a steep contraction.

From a price-impact perspective, dolphin flows have exerted greater influence this cycle due to their scale.

However, whale accumulation has historically initiated key upside moves, positioning the recent whale rebound as a potential early structural signal rather than a short-term price catalyst.

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