CryptoQuant Reports Record Whale Accumulation Across Major Cryptocurrencies

While volatility continues to dominate the crypto market, the largest investors follow a contrary path. According to the latest “Smart Money” report from CryptoQuant, the most influential wallets are massively accumulating bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP, despite a climate marked by uncertainty. This buying strategy comes at a time when several valuation indicators return to levels historically associated with the ends of bear markets. Behind these movements lies a deep trend: an increasing concentration of assets in the hands of institutional investors.

The explosion of whale reserves on bitcoin and Ethereum

While a whale just moved 1 billion in bitcoins, the analysis report reveals a massive transfer of liquidity towards very large-cap wallets. CryptoQuant data confirms that large holders systematically take advantage of prolonged downturn phases to increase their exposure, to the detriment of the market’s most vulnerable investors.

This discreet buying phenomenon has accelerated dramatically over recent months on the two main protocols of the ecosystem. The concentration of tokens in the hands of high-capital entities now reaches record levels, as evidenced by precise on-chain metrics :

• Bitcoin (BTC) : whale reserves rose from 2.87 million BTC in December 2025 to about 3.06 million BTC, with a marked acceleration after falling below 60,000 dollars in June ;
• Ethereum (ETH) mid-tier : wallets holding between 10,000 and 100,000 ETH reached an all-time combined high of 19.6 million ETH ;
• Ethereum (ETH) giant wallets : addresses holding over 100,000 ETH absorbed nearly 1.8 million additional ETH since mid-2025.

This frenzy of accumulation observed on the sector’s two giants profoundly changes the ownership structure of circulating tokens. By removing a considerable amount of assets from the liquid market during price downturns, major players mechanically reduce the immediately available supply. CryptoQuant sums up this strategy with an unequivocal theoretical conclusion: “increase in whale balances during price weakness is the clearest indicator of savvy investors”. Thus, this absorption capacity during price contraction episodes demonstrates experienced investors’ willingness to build major positions in anticipation of the next cycle.

The gap in realized prices and passive absorption on the XRP crypto

Beyond the increase in wallet balances, the analysis of the realized price, the estimation of the average on-chain break-even price for all coins, provides essential insight into the fundamental value of assets. Current data show divergent configurations: bitcoin trades at 63,935 dollars against an estimated realized price of 52,900 dollars, while Ether trades in an undervaluation zone at 1,858 dollars compared to a realized price of about 2,450 dollars. XRP stands at around 1.10 dollars, trading within a range between 1 and 1.20 dollars, for an estimated realized price of about 0.75 dollars.

On the Ripple crypto market, the average size of spot orders remains firmly in the category of large whales defined by CryptoQuant. However, the metric of the cumulative taker volume delta over 90 days remains neutral. This fundamental technical detail reflects a dynamic of passive absorption of sell orders by big players, rather than aggressive impulse buys at market price. Such behavior confirms that savvy investors methodically accumulate liquidity sold by the impatient without prematurely pushing prices up.

Market floor and seller capitulation signals

This accumulation phase aligns with other research works identifying end-of-bear-cycle indicators. The company 10x Research notes in this regard that bitcoin could validate confirmation of a bear market bottom by managing to close monthly above the key level of 63,000 dollars.

For its part, firm K33 indicated in a report published on July 7 that the main crypto historically reaches the lowest point of its cycle in the weeks following the moment when more than half of its circulating supply is held at a loss.

Nevertheless, a rigorous analysis requires tempering these promising prospects. Although this pattern of accumulation by whales has historically preceded market bottoms, CryptoQuant explicitly reminds that the market remains exposed to further downside risks in the short term. Final confirmation of a bottom will depend on the market’s ability to transform this passive absorption into a sustainable buying impulse.