Whales Accumulate BTC and ETH Amid Late-Stage Bear Market Signals
CryptoQuant's latest Smart Money report shows that large 'smart money' holders are adding to their Bitcoin and Ether positions, despite crypto valuations drifting toward levels commonly associated with late-stage bear markets.
The blockchain analytics firm argues that the key signal is not just that whales are holding more, but that their balances have continued to rise during price weakness, an accumulation pattern that can line up with market bottoms even though it does not guarantee an immediate reversal.
CryptoQuant says Bitcoin whale balances (excluding exchanges and mining pools) rose to about 3.06 million BTC, up from roughly 2.87 million BTC in December 2025. This acceleration in accumulation occurred after Bitcoin fell below $60,000 in June.
The report also notes that very large Ethereum holders added around 1.8 million ETH since mid-2025, while wallets holding between 10,000 and 100,000 ETH collectively amassed a record 19.6 million ETH.