The Bitcoin market is experiencing an intriguing trend as large BTC holders are selling off their assets while institutional buyers are actively increasing their positions.
Sellers: Large Bitcoin Holders
According to data from 10x Research, over the past year, large holders (or whales) have sold more than 500,000 Bitcoins. This amount is nearly equal to the net inflows of BTC into U.S.-approved ETFs and closely matches the approximately $65 billion BTC portfolio that MicroStrategy has amassed.
Whales, who have held significant volumes for a long time, have begun selling off, reflecting in Bitcoin prices remaining at the $110,000 mark.
Buyers: Institutional Investors
Institutional investors, including ETFs, corporate treasuries, and asset managers, are covering the majority of the sales made by whales. According to Flipside Crypto, 95% of Bitcoin was held by just 2% of wallets in 2020, but now institutions range from ETFs to MicroStrategy holding 4.8 million of the approximately 20 million Bitcoins in circulation.
As noted by Rob Strebel, director of Cumberland, the arrival of institutional investors is turning crypto into a mainstream asset class with lower volatility.
Market and Possible Changes
Despite the doubled price of Bitcoin over the past two years, its value has remained stagnant since entering 2025. Some analysts predict that Bitcoin's annual earnings potential could be capped at 10-20%. Arca CIO Jeff Dorman suggests that Bitcoin could end up being a 'boring dividend stock,' increasing a little every year but with a declining rate of return.
While not all whale movements can be tracked on-chain, a new catalyst could emerge at any moment that causes sudden market shifts. Experts like Fred Thiel, CEO of MARA Holdings, believe that the market may be approaching its peak, but the dynamics today are different.
In light of the power shift in the Bitcoin market, it's important to monitor the actions of both large holders and institutional investors. Changes may unfold over years, but their impact is already being felt.
