Whales Accumulate Bitcoin and Ether as Bear Market Lingers
CryptoQuant reports large holders boosted Bitcoin whale balances to about 3.06 million BTC and expanded big Ether wallets as prices reached late-stage bear market levels.
Blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant reported that large cryptocurrency holders increased holdings of Bitcoin and Ether as valuations approached levels associated with a late-stage bear market. Bitcoin whale balances, excluding exchange and mining-pool addresses, rose to about 3.06 million BTC from 2.87 million BTC in December 2025. CryptoQuant reported accumulation accelerated after Bitcoin fell below $60,000 in June and continued through December 2025.
CryptoQuant’s data showed Ethereum wallets holding 10,000 to 100,000 ETH collectively reached a record 19.6 million ETH, while wallets holding more than 100,000 ETH added roughly 1.8 million ETH since mid-2025.
The report included realized price measures. At the time of the report Bitcoin traded near $63,935, above a realized price of about $52,900. Ether traded around $1,858, below a realized price near $2,450. XRP traded near $1.10, compared with a realized price of about $0.75.
On XRP order flow, average spot order sizes remained within CryptoQuant’s ‘big whale’ category while the token traded between $1 and $1.20. A neutral 90-day taker cumulative volume delta suggested large orders were being absorbed passively rather than through aggressive buying, the report noted.
Other research referenced in the report included analysis that a monthly Bitcoin close above $63,000 could serve as a technical confirmation of a bear-market bottom, and a separate analysis finding that past cycle lows often occurred within weeks after more than half of circulating supply was held at a loss.
“Rising whale balances into price weakness is the clearest smart-money tell,” CryptoQuant wrote, adding the accumulation pattern has historically preceded market bottoms while warning markets remain exposed to further downside.
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