Crypto Whales Ramp Up Accumulation As Bear Market Nears Late Stage

Large holders of Bitcoin and Ethereum are increasing their positions as prices sit near levels historically tied to the final stage of a bear market, according to CryptoQuant’s latest Smart Money report. Bitcoin whale holdings, excluding exchanges and mining pools, climbed to about 3.06 million BTC from 2.87 million BTC in December 2025, with buying picking up pace after Bitcoin fell below $60,000 in June.

Ethereum And XRP Show Similar Patterns

Ethereum wallets holding between 10,000 and 100,000 ETH now hold a record 19.6 million ETH combined, while wallets above 100,000 ETH have added roughly 1.8 million ETH since mid-2025. In XRP markets, large order sizes stayed in the “big whale” range as the token traded between $1 and $1.20, though CryptoQuant said the flat 90-day volume delta points to passive buying rather than aggressive accumulation.

Realized Price Data Hints At A Bottom

Bitcoin traded at $63,935, above its realized price of $52,900, while Ether sat below its realized price near $2,450. XRP traded around $1.10 versus a realized price of about $0.75.

10x Research said a monthly close above $63,000 could confirm a bottom, and K33 noted past cycles bottomed within weeks after over half of Bitcoin’s supply was held at a loss.