The Number of Bitcoin Whales Has Hit an All-Time High — Large Holders Are Increasing Their Positions During the Recovery

• The number of wallets with balances from 10 BTC to 10,000 BTC has reached a new all-time high, experts said.
• Whale balances increased by about 60,000 BTC.
• Whales built positions after the price recovery had already begun, not ahead of it — pointing to supply absorption rather than early positioning.

Analytics platforms Santiment and CryptoQuant have recorded increased activity among large bitcoin holders amid the market recovery.

According to Santiment, the number of wallets with balances from 10 BTC to 10,000 BTC reached a new all-time high — 20,338 addresses. Growth has been uninterrupted since mid-July despite significant price volatility. 

This cohort has historically shown a close link to the asset’s future price direction: when more large players enter this range during sideways trading, it signals sustained confidence and a lack of flight from the market during pullbacks, the statement said.

Whales built positions during the recovery

According to CryptoQuant, the total balances of whale wallets (excluding exchange addresses and mining pools) rose from about 2.94 million BTC at the end of August to nearly 3 million BTC — a net increase of about 60,000 BTC, or 2%, bringing balances to the highest level of the current year.

However, experts said the growth was not continuous. Accumulation slowed somewhat during September, then accelerated sharply in late September and early October. The balance expansion took place after the initial price recovery — whales increased positions as the rebound unfolded, rather than anticipating it in advance.

Analysts added that this changes the interpretation of the rally: large holders are showing a willingness to hold more bitcoin after prices recover. If this behavior persists, it could help absorb profit-taking and support a shift from a temporary rebound to more sustained growth.

For now, balances have slipped slightly from the latest peak. A key test will be whale behavior during price consolidation — whether they hold on to the accumulated volumes. 

CryptoQuant also cautions that sharp balance changes may reflect wallet restructuring or migration between cohorts, so on their own, these data are not direct evidence of spot buying. Confirmation of active accumulation would be a combination of rising balances during price pullbacks, strengthening spot demand, and limited inflows from whales to exchanges, the experts concluded.

As a reminder, earlier CryptoQuant analysts, Willy Woo and Darkfost assessed the current structure of the bitcoin market.

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