Bitcoin Whales Return to Buying for the First Time Since August as Price Recovers Above $90K

Whales and early bitcoin holders have been heavy net sellers throughout 2025, specifically since August, as large holders have reduced their holdings meaningfully, taking advantage of price levels above $100,000.

However, things are now starting to shift.

Following the recent 35% drawdown from the October highs, bitcoin has so far bottomed out around $80,000. Over the past week, the trend has flipped from distribution to accumulation.

According to Glassnode’s Accumulation Trend Score by cohort, entities holding 10,000 BTC or more have flipped to net accumulation over the past week. These large holders now register an Accumulation Trend Score of 0.8, which indicates strong buying activity. The 1,000 to 10,000 BTC holders have also turned positive for the first time since September.

Meanwhile, the 100 to 1,000 BTC cohort has been in aggressive accumulation since October and continued to buy throughout the correction. Retail holders with less than 1 BTC are now showing their strongest accumulation since July.

The Accumulation Trend Score measures the relative strength of buying by balance cohort based on entity wallet size and the volume of coins accumulated over the previous 15 days. Values near 1 signal net accumulation, and values near 0 signal distribution. Exchange and miner entities are excluded from the methodology.

The data suggests the market has identified value in the $80,000 region, as bitcoin has now regained $90,000 swiftly. May’s support levels were in the low $80,000 price region with the $82,000 cost basis for US spot bitcoin ETFs, reinforcing the idea that buyers view this area as a fair value zone.

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