Large entities drove Bitcoin (BTC) accumulation during the November-December bottoming phase while smaller investors sold their holdings.
What Happened: Whale Accumulation During Price Dip
Analytics firm Glassnode reported the trend in a post on X, noting that supply accumulation was primarily driven by larger entities during the bottoming phase while smaller cohorts were distributing.
The firm cited its Accumulation Trend Score, an on-chain indicator that measures whether BTC addresses are accumulating or distributing based on balance changes and wallet size. Values above 0.5 indicate accumulation, with 1.0 representing the strongest buying behavior.
Data showed investors holding 10,000+ BTC — often called "mega whales" — maintained an Accumulation Trend Score near 1.0 during the bottoming period following November's price crash.
Holders in the 1,000 to 10,000 BTC range began accumulating in December.
All cohorts holding less than 1,000 BTC displayed varying degrees of distribution in recent weeks. The 1 to 10 coins group showed near-perfect selling behavior.
"This divergence appears to be driven in part by exchange-related wallet reshuffling, and also by large holders buying the dip," Glassnode explained.
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Why It Matters: Market Structure Divergence
The data reveals a notable split in investor behavior across different wealth brackets during a critical price recovery period.
Mega BTC whales shifted to neutral positioning around mid-December, while normal whales have maintained net buying.
Smaller retail participants continue to exit positions.
Bitcoin has declined since the week started and now trades around $89,600.
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