The largest Bitcoin holders are parting ways with their holdings, with the balances of “whales”—those holding between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC—declining over the last year, according to a report from crypto analytics firm CryptoQuant. The activity, coupled with decelerating accumulation by “dolphins” (those holding between 100 and 1,000 BTC), matches the pattern of the last major crypto bear market in 2022.
“The 1-year change in whale balances remains in negative territory, a distribution pattern directly mirroring the 2022 bear market, when year-over-year whale growth first stalled then turned negative,” the report states. During that period, Bitcoin fell from as high as $47,450 in March to as low as $15,742 in November 2022—a decline of nearly 67%.
“On a monthly basis, both the dolphin and whale cohorts have effectively stalled,” CryptoQuant wrote. The firm noted that when these two groups simultaneously fail to accumulate Bitcoin, it typically precedes “sustained price weakness,” as they “represent the primary source of structural demand support in Bitcoin markets.”
While dolphins and whales stagnate, the balance of BTC held by long-term holders has grown to 15.8 million BTC—a new all-time high per CryptoQuant’s data. Analysts flagged this as a counterintuitive bearish signal, describing it as “a bearish configuration signaling the absence of new market entrants.” Long-term holder supply increases when Bitcoin does not change hands at scale, CryptoQuant explained, characterizing short-term demand as “insufficient” to absorb selling pressure from that cohort.
Bitcoin was trading around $73,536 on Thursday, down 1.7% over the prior 24 hours and roughly 5% on the week. The current price sits approximately 42% below its all-time high set in October.
Source: Bitcoin Whale Balances Declining in Pattern That Echoes 2022 Bear Market