Bitcoin holders possessing between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC have been actively acquiring the cryptocurrency since its value dipped close to $80,000. Conversely, smaller investors holding less than 1,000 BTC appear to be offloading their assets during this period.
Data from Glassnode, a blockchain analytics platform, reveals that these so-called Bitcoin whales—those with over 1,000 BTC—have emerged as the primary buyers as prices neared the $80k mark. Over recent weeks, they have notably increased their long position accumulations.
Whales Increase Bitcoin Purchases Near $80K Threshold
The analytics indicate that among whale groups, only those holding between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC exhibit consistent accumulation behavior. Their Accumulation Trend Score—a metric evaluating buying versus selling activity over the past two weeks—is approaching a value of one. Scores near one signify strong buying interest; scores closer to zero suggest selling pressure.
This trend suggests these investors are capitalizing on price dips around $80k—a level last observed in April of this year. Meanwhile, smaller holders under the 1,000 BTC threshold are showing signs of distribution by selling at similar price points.
Larger whales with balances exceeding 10,000 BTC were aggressive buyers in late November but have recently slowed down their purchasing pace. Notably though they haven’t engaged in significant sales lately—a contrast to mid-year when Bitcoin surged beyond $100k and large holders began offloading assets.
A December 29 report from Cryptopolitan highlighted that Strategy—the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin based in the U.S.—acquired an additional 1,229 Bitcoins funded through proceeds from issuing new MSTR common stock.
This acquisition totaled approximately $108.8 million at an average purchase price near $88,568 per coin. According to data compiled by BTC Treasuries,the company’s total holdings now stand at roughly 672, 497 Bitcoins valued around $58.91 billion. Similarly, Hyperscale Data, a publicly traded U.S.-based firm, has also expanded its Bitcoin portfolio recently.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index provided by Coinglass currently registers a reading of 25, suggesting prevailing market sentiment is dominated by “fear.” This index has lingered within “fear” or “extreme fear” zones for about a month now — indicating potential capitulation driven primarily by small-scale investor sell-offs.
Bitcoin’s Future Price Trajectory Remains Uncertain as 2026 Draws Near
Over the past week,BTC’s price has remained relatively stable.According to CoinMarketCap data,the cryptocurrency trades around $87,738, bouncing between highs near $95,k and lows close to $85,k since late November.Intraday it fell nearly half a percent,resulting in a seven-day decline totaling about -2.19%.From its all-time peak above $&num126,&num198 reached on October &num6&,BTC is down roughly -30.&num53%.
While larger market participants hint at possible short-term rebounds for Bitcoin,the overall outlook remains clouded with uncertainty.A Cryptopolitan report published late November pointed out analyst concerns regarding potential dips below $&num80,k which could trigger broader sell-offs across crypto markets.Data from SosoValue revealed U.s.-based spot BTC ETFs experienced outflows amounting to $&num275.‑‑‑‑‑‑-88 million on December #26&,marking six consecutive days where more than one billion dollars exited these funds.”““”