Bitcoin Holdings Surge Among Large Investors
In recent months, substantial Bitcoin (BTC) holders, often referred to as “whales,” have been increasing their holdings, bringing them back to levels seen before the market crash on October 10, 2025.
During this same time, outflows associated with these whales averaged about 3.5% of the BTC held on exchanges over a rolling 30-day period, marking the highest rate since late 2024, according to data from various crypto exchanges.
Whale Reserves Rebound
Bitcoin wallets containing between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC have seen their reserves grow significantly over the past three months. This group increased its total balance from 2.86 million BTC to 3.09 million BTC, with an impressive 230,000 BTC returning to pre-October 2025 levels.
Cryptocurrency analyst Coreconomy noted that whales have accumulated 98,000 BTC in just the past month. This increase coincided with a broader distribution phase that kicked off in August 2025, after Bitcoin reached a peak of $124,000. Following that, the cryptocurrency faced challenges in maintaining substantial gains.
Looking at the BTC spot market data, the average order size throughout 2026 has fluctuated between 950 and 1,100 BTC. This range represents the most consistent period of high-value trades we’ve seen since September 2024.
Interestingly, there was a similar situation during the February-March 2025 adjustment period. At that time, most of the trading activity was driven by retail orders, but larger transactions were less frequent and came in smaller clusters.
Exchange Flows Hit 14-Month High
According to crypto analyst maartunn, the BTC exchange flow into Binance reached $8.24 billion over the last month, a peak not seen in 14 months. In contrast, retail flows remained steady at $11.91 billion during the same timeframe. The retail-to-whale ratio currently stands at 1.45 and is on a downward trend as large reserves continue to rise.
Alongside this influx, the total whale withdrawals from exchanges averaged around 3.5% of the total Bitcoin supply held, marking the fastest rate since November 2024, based on Glassnode’s data. This roughly translates to about 60,000 to 100,000 BTC withdrawn within the past month.
While the gross inflows to exchanges are increasing, the high rates of withdrawals indicate that much of the incoming BTC is balanced out by robust remittances, keeping net exchange balances relatively stable.
