Bitcoin Whales Trim Holdings In Pattern Echoing 67% Crash Of 2022

The largest Bitcoin (BTC) holders are trimming positions in a way that resembles the 2022 bear market, on-chain data shows.

Key Points:

Whale balances have stayed negative on a one-year basis, a pattern that matches the early phase of the 2022 downturn.

Long-term holder supply has climbed to a record 15.8 million BTC, which analysts read as a bearish signal.

Bitcoin recently changed hands near $73,536, down roughly 42% from its October peak.

Whale Distribution Returns

Wallets holding between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC have steadily reduced their balances over the past year, according to a fresh report from analytics firm CryptoQuant carried by Decrypt. The decline runs alongside slowing accumulation among "dolphins," addresses holding 100 to 1,000 BTC.

CryptoQuant said the one-year change in whale balances remains negative, a distribution pattern that directly mirrors the 2022 bear market, when year-over-year whale growth first stalled then turned negative.

Back then, Bitcoin slid from a March high of $47,450 to a November low of $15,742, a drop of nearly 67%. The current decline from October's all-time high of $126,080 sits at about 42%, leaving room for further weakness if the parallel holds.

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Bearish Signal From Holders

Both whales and dolphins have stalled on a monthly basis, the firm noted, and warned that simultaneous inaction across the two groups tends to precede sustained price weakness.

Long-term holder supply has reached a record 15.8 million BTC. The firm framed the milestone as bearish rather than bullish, arguing it reflects an absence of fresh buyers rather than conviction from existing holders.

Short-term demand, the firm added, is too thin to absorb selling from older wallets.

Bitcoin was changing hands near $73,536 on Thursday, down 1.7% on the day and close to 5% on the week.

Recent Context

The fresh whale data follows months of bearish on-chain readings. CryptoQuant earlier reported that the exchange whale ratio climbed to 0.64 in February, the highest since October 2015, with the top 10 deposits accounting for 64% of inflows.

Separate work from the firm placed the potential bear market floor near $55,000, citing the asset's realized price as historical support. Bitcoin peaked at $126,080 in October 2025 before its slide began.

Alexey Bondarev

Alexey Bondarev is the Head of Content at Yellow.com, having reported on crypto for the last 10 years. He specializes in in-depth Research and Learn pieces, with a focus on analytical reporting, industry context, and the bigger forces shaping crypto, from the AI era and security technologies to fintech innovation. He believes that everything digital will imminently overcome everything analogue and is working hard to make that come true.