Large-Scale Bitcoin Investors Stop Accumulating Amid Weakening Demand: CryptoQuant Report
According to CryptoQuant, major Bitcoin holders are experiencing a deteriorating holding pattern, a development that has traditionally signaled impending "sustained price weakness."
A growing proportion of Bitcoin investors are witnessing their holdings slip into unrealized losses as the ownership structure continues to weaken among significant holder categories, data from CryptoQuant reveals.
Year-over-year balance expansion for whale wallets containing between 1,000 and 10,000 Bitcoin (BTC) has shifted into negative territory in what represents the most rapid decline witnessed this year, CryptoQuant revealed in a Thursday research report.
Growth on a monthly basis has remained stagnant since February, indicating a transition from accumulation behavior to moderate distribution that echoes patterns seen during the 2022 bear market, the report noted.
Bitcoin "dolphins", characterized as entities holding between 100 and 1,000 BTC and primarily composed of exchange-traded funds and corporate treasuries, continue to demonstrate positive annual growth though the pace has dramatically slowed.
Balance growth measured monthly is hovering near zero for both holder categories, with dolphin balances recording consecutive lower highs starting from September 2025, according to CryptoQuant. Throughout history, such periods have preceded "sustained price weakness," given that these holder groups collectively constitute the "primary source of structural demand support in Bitcoin markets," the analysis emphasized.
This deteriorating ownership structure emerges as the cryptocurrency bear market intensifies against a backdrop of escalating macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges.
According to CryptoQuant, the supply held by long-term holders has climbed to an unprecedented record of 15.8 million BTC, though this represents a bearish configuration that indicates the lack of fresh market participants.
Tim Sun, a researcher with HashKey Group, explained to Cointelegraph that following Bitcoin's retreat from its October peak, "the highest proportion of supply in unrealized loss once approached 50%, marking the highest level since the bottom of the 2022 bear market."
"If mapped against the on-chain realized price, the absolute bottom territory could be around $40,000 to $45,000."
Nevertheless, Sun expressed optimism that Bitcoin might establish "a more realistic bottom range" somewhere between $55,000 to $60,000, provided that hostilities between the US and Iran do not intensify further and the Federal Reserve refrains from increasing interest rates.
"Ultimately, the formation of a solid market bottom and subsequent recovery still relies on a definitive easing of interest rates and the broader liquidity environment."
Market analyst "Darkfost" stated on Thursday that the present range-bound trading environment continues to pose challenges for market participants to manage, "with euphoria emerging whenever BTC approaches the upper end of the range, while pessimism quickly returns as price moves closer to the lower boundary."
The analyst further noted that with current price levels hovering around $73,700, approximately 40% of the circulating supply was purchased at elevated price points and is currently being maintained at a loss.