Bitcoin "whales" are on a feeding frenzy. The number of wallets holding over 100 BTC just hit a 17-month high. This comes as smaller traders lose their nerve and dump their coins.

Blockchain analytics firm Santiment dropped some eye-opening stats. In August alone, 283 wallets crossed the 100 BTC threshold. That's no small change.

"As crypto prices have let retail traders down, Bitcoin whales are growing in number," Santiment said. The total count of these chunky wallets now sits at 16,120.

It's not just the big fish, either. "Shark" wallets, holding 10+ BTC, are also beefing up their stacks.

All told, wallets in the 10-10,000 BTC range have scooped up over 133,000 coins in the past month. That's a cool $7.6 billion at current prices.

Blockstream CEO Adam Back noticed the trend. He pointed out that whales have been buying 450 BTC daily since a price dip on August 28. "Go ahead sell them cheap corn," he quipped.

Why the whale feast? Santiment reckons smaller traders are "impatiently" offloading their holdings. The pressure's on as prices slide.

CryptoQuant's Axel Adler Jr. thinks more pain could be coming. He warns the number of folks willing to sell at a loss might double if current trends continue.

The market mood isn't great. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has been stuck in "Fear" territory. It averaged a measly 37 in August.

But not everyone's doom and gloom. Bitgrow Lab's Vivek Sen sees a silver lining. He notes that heavy whale buying has often preceded new Bitcoin all-time highs.

"The last time whales bought a lot, Bitcoin hit a new ATH," Sen said. Time will tell if history repeats itself.