Data from on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant uploaded to X by contributor Axel Adler Jr. on October 11 shows that whales have accumulated 1.5 million Bitcoins over the past 6 months.
Bitcoin Whales Accumulate
Bitcoin whales have been steadily increasing their exposure to BTC — a trend that has been ongoing almost continuously since the all-time high in March.
Analyzing known whale wallets that do not belong to miners or centralized exchanges, Adler confirmed the clear strategy used by large-volume investors.
“Whales accumulated 1.5 million BTC (with balances >1,000 BTC) over the past 6 months. There’s really nothing to discuss here.”
Adler acknowledged that some smaller whales (with less than 1,000 BTC) have sold over the same period.
Looking at the most recent price action, CryptoQuant shows that other groups of Bitcoin investors have also sold at a loss.
Notably, Bitcoin speculators, also known as short-term holders (STH), have sold at a loss on exchanges multiple times in 2024.
When BTC slid below $60,000 on October 10, Adler posted a chart of STH profit and loss (P&L) from exchanges. According to him, the biggest whales are accumulating these coins.
“You don’t believe that whales have accumulated 1.5 million BTC and wonder where they got it from? Why not look at the short trades on exchanges? In the last 24 hours, 24,100 BTC have been sold at a loss.”
STH entities (wallets that hold a certain amount of BTC for up to 155 days) are known for their reactive buying and selling behavior.
BTC price movements in a certain direction can cause this group to quickly sell or buy, as evidenced by their reaction to Bitcoin’s recent move to $66,000.
Whale growth could herald a “potential bullish move” for Bitcoin price
However, CryptoQuant contributor DarkFost said that whales accumulating between $54,000 and $68,000 is “significant.”
“New whales are entering the game and accumulating aggressively, while existing whales are also increasing their positions. Overall, we see all whales accumulating in this price range. Their growing balances suggest that a potential bullish move could be imminent, either in the medium or long term,” he concluded in the Quicktake blog post.