Based on reports, whales—those early adopters and big miners—sold over 500,000 BTC in the past 12 months. At today’s rates, that stash is worth north of $50 billion. Institutions grabbed almost every coin they let go. It’s a huge shift in who really owns Bitcoin.
At the same time, addresses with 100–1,000 BTC jumped from nearly 4 million to 4.77 million. That shift shows big players trimming back while medium‑size holders, often funds or wealthy clients, build their stacks. It’s happening quietly through in‑kind transfers and private deals that skip public exchanges.
Public firms climbed from 325,400 BTC to 848,600 BTC. ETFs led the charge, raising their balance from 1,039,000 BTC to 1,405,480 BTC. In total, these groups added 899,198 BTC—about $96 billion—over the past year. That buying power has helped keep the market in balance as whales step back.
Medium-sized wallets are growing while the largest ones shrink. That trend suggests new types of investors are moving in.
Edward Chin, co‑founder of Parataxis Capital, said in‑kind transfers let coins move from anonymous holders to regulated firms without public trades. This quiet pipeline boosts on‑chain activity and brings more oversight to big Bitcoin trades.
As institutional flows rise, price swings have dulled. The Deribit 30‑day volatility gauge sits at its lowest level in two years. Jeff Dorman, CIO at Arca, compared today’s Bitcoin to a steady dividend payer that might deliver annual gains in the 10–20% range.
That’s a far cry from the 1,400% surge seen in 2017. For long‑term savers, steadier returns look more attractive than wild rallies.
Meanwhile, Fred Thiel, CEO of miner MARA Holdings, said his company still holds every coin it mines. But he warned that if whale selling picks up again and institutional appetite fades, prices could lurch lower.
Featured image from Meta, chart from TradingView
