BTC, ETH, XRP Crash Sparks Whale Accumulation as Buy Signals Appear

Most major cryptocurrencies tanked over the past several days, led by bitcoin’s nosedive from $87,000 to under $81,000, which became its lowest price tag in well over two weeks.

Large altcoins such as XRP and ETH were not spared, with the former posting a double-digit decline over the past seven-day period. The question now is what whales were doing during this time, and what’s next for the underlying assets.

The BTC Case

Some of the most probable reasons behind BTC’s crash include substantial ETF outflows, FUD initiated by big transfers from the US government, macro news, and profit-taking. It’s worth exploring what whales did during this time of distress, and Ali Martinez pointed to a growing accumulation spree.

In a recent video on X, the popular analyst said these large market participants pressed the buy button hard on bitcoin, adding over $1.2 billion worth of the asset to their holdings in 72 hours.

In another bullish post, he explained that the TD Sequential has finally flashed a buy signal for the cryptocurrency on the four-hour chart. This came after the asset crumbled by 7% in a few days and hints at a potential rebound.

2/5 The TD Sequential is flashing a buy signal on Bitcoin’s four-hour chart.

It comes after $BTC fell 5.55%, from $86,976 on October 5 to $82,150 today.

The signal suggests this pullback may be nearing an end, with a rebound now worth watching. https://t.co/o9ZS4Q1anl

— Ali Charts (@alicharts) October 8, 2026

Here’s ETH’s Situation

The leading altcoin crashed hard as well, tumbling from over $2,700 to $2,400 before it found some support. Although it rebounded to $2,500 on Friday, where it was stopped, it still remains well in the red on a weekly scale.

According to Martinez, Ethereum whales didn’t just stand on the sidelines. They increased their holdings by 0.64%: in other words, they purchased around 166,000 tokens as the asset’s price corrected.

ETH’s 8% decline also led to a change in the TD Sequential indicator. Similar to BTC, the four-hour chart flashed a buy signal once the asset slipped below $2,550, where it currently sits. Martinez noted that the recovery can take ETH to somewhere between $2,620 and $2,650.

What About XRP?

Ripple’s native token remains down by double digits on a weekly scale, even though it rebounded from the local low at $1.34. On the plus side, the rejection at $1.51 and the subsequent retracement allowed whales to resume their accumulation spree.

Martinez said these big market players bought over 45 million tokens, worth around $63 million, during the nosedive. And, not to be outdone by BTC and ETH, XRP’s four-hour chart also saw a new buy signal, according to the TD Sequential.

“An earlier sell signal aligned closely with XRP’s local high. Now, the question is whether this buy signal marks a local low,” added Martinez.