Whale Accumulation Signals Potential Bear Market Bottom Ahead

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

Rising whale balances during price weakness can reduce available supply and concentrate ownership among larger holders, according to CryptoQuant. In this case, Bitcoin whale holdings have increased from 2.87 million BTC in December 2025 to around 3.06 million BTC after dropping below $60,000 in June.

Ethereum wallets holding between 10,000 and 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. In the XRP market, average spot order sizes remained in CryptoQuant's 'big whale' category as the token traded between $1 and $1.20.

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. Bitcoin traded at around $63,935, above its realized price of $52,900, while Ether traded below its realized price of about $2,450.