Crypto Whales Amass BTC and ETH as Bear Market Valuations Loom

CryptoQuant's latest Smart Money report reveals that large cryptocurrency holders are accumulating Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) as valuations approach levels associated with the final stage of a bear market.

The report states that rising whale balances during price weakness can reduce available supply and concentrate ownership among larger holders.

Bitcoin whale holdings, excluding exchanges and mining pools, rose to about 3.06 million BTC from 2.87 million BTC in December 2025, with accumulation accelerating after Bitcoin dropped below $60,000 in June.

Ethereum wallets holding 10,000 to 100,000 ETH collectively held a record 19.6 million ETH, while wallets holding more than 100,000 ETH added roughly 1.8 million ETH since mid-2025.

CryptoQuant also pointed to realized price, an estimate of the market's average onchain cost basis, as evidence that the market may be approaching a bottom.