Bitcoin on-chain data reveals: Whales have accumulated 23,000 BTC at low prices, is a bottom signal already visible?

On-chain analysis company Santiment shows that during the recent price pullback of Bitcoin, shark and whale addresses holding 10 to 10,000 BTC did not panic; instead, they increased their holdings by over 20,000 BTC (worth $2.3 billion) against the trend. This article delves into this key investor behavior, analyzes its correlation with historical price movement, and discusses the contradictory signal of the company’s Bitcoin holdings trend weakening, providing on-chain data reference for determining the BTC price bottom and future market trends.

Whales Buy on Dips: Cumulative Increase of 23,000 BTC

In a new X tweet, on-chain analytics company Santiment shared data on how key investors in Bitcoin are responding to the latest price movements of the cryptocurrency. The related holders refer to entities whose wallet balances are within the range of 10 to 10,000 BTC. At the current exchange rate of the asset, the lower limit is equivalent to 1.1 million USD, while the upper limit is equivalent to 1.1 billion USD. Therefore, the addresses that meet this range condition can only be owned by large investors. Entities of this kind have a certain influence on the market due to their holdings, making their Bitcoin holding behavior worthy of attention. These key holders are typically divided into two categories: sharks (holding a smaller amount but still considered large holders) and whales (holding a massive amount). The scale of whales is far greater than that of the former, giving them the greatest power in the network.

From Sell-off to Accumulation: A Key Turning Point Has Emerged

As shown in the figure above, the supply of Bitcoin held by sharks and Whales decreased in July, indicating that some key investors sold when the price approached the all-time high (ATH). However, after BTC reached a new ATH of over $124,000 a few days ago, the indicator bottomed out and reversed, indicating that sharks and whales have been buying during the subsequent price pullback. Since August 13, investors within this range have collectively increased their holdings by 20,061 BTC (worth $2.3 billion). Looking at a longer timeframe, since March 22, these two groups have purchased a total of 225,320 BTC (worth $26.1 billion).

Significant historical correlation, but beware of another contradictory signal

The analysis company explained: "For most of the past five years, there has been a significant correlation between the group's holdings and the direction of future price movement." Whether this is the case this time remains to be seen; the behavior of whales accumulating Bitcoin may lead to another round of price increase. On the other hand, as Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments, pointed out in a post on X, the number of buyers of Bitcoin treasury bonds has been declining since peaking earlier this year. Edwards pointed out: "The number of buyers for Bitcoin bonds has continued to decline, despite the price reaching an all-time high, with only 2.8 buyers per day now. Is it that the traditional financing world has reached saturation, or is this just a pullback?"

Conclusion

The on-chain data for Bitcoin clearly shows positive signals of changes in whale holdings: mainstream investors are viewing this pullback as an accumulation opportunity, and their behavior patterns align with historical bull market precedents. However, the slowing growth of company buyers also suggests that the structure of market participants may be changing, or that traditional capital inflow channels may be facing short-term bottlenecks. For investors, the continuous accumulation by shark and whale addresses is an important dimension for assessing market confidence and potential price bottoms, but the subtle changes in macro-level capital inflows should not be overlooked. The short-term market may still experience volatility, but the steadfast accumulation by large holders provides strong confidence support for the medium to long-term outlook.