Bitcoin Whale Holdings Hit 488 BTC – Lowest Since 2018: Panic or Golden Opportunity?

Whale wallets are bleeding Bitcoin—supply just cratered to levels not seen since 2018. Is this the big flush before the rally?

Where Did All the Whales Go?

Large holders now control just 488 BTC on average—down sharply from last year’s peaks. Retail is stepping in, but the big question is whether this is distribution or accumulation in disguise.

Market Signals: Fear or Greed?

Volatility’s spiking, but seasoned traders see blood in the water—and opportunity. Remember: whales sell during euphoria and buy when nobody’s looking. Classic playbook, really.

Institutional Moves Quietly Ramping Up

Behind the scenes, ETFs and funds are snapping up coins—just not in whale-sized chunks. They’re playing the long game while Twitter panics. Typical finance folks—overcomplicating everything while retail does the heavy lifting.

Bottom Line: This isn’t 2018. Fundamentals are stronger, adoption’s wider, and let’s be real—traditional finance still can’t code its way out of a paper bag. Time to zoom out.

Key Takeaways

Bitcoin whales (100–10k BTC) control 47% of supply. However, average per-wallet BTC has dropped to 480. Could this signal strategic distribution?

Whales in the 100-10k Bitcoin [BTC] range are reshaping the network.

Santiment data showed entities holding 100-10k BTC control about 9.29 million BTC, roughly 47% of circulating supply. That’s around $1.1 trillion sitting on-chain across roughly 2,066 addresses.

Meanwhile, Glassnode data highlighted a key structural shift: Average BTC “per” whale in this range has been dropping since November 2024, signaling either redistribution or strategic accumulation.

Source: Glassnode

Simply put, the per-address balance in this cohort is contracting.

As per the chart, supply per whale (100–10k BTC) has dropped to 480 BTC, back to 2018 levels, down from 560 in 2024 and 590 in 2022. However, when aligned with BTC price, a notable shift emerges. 

Unlike 2022, when the drop tracked BTC’s 63% bear-market slide to $17k, the 2024 dip has occurred amid vertical price action. Could this divergence be a testament to Bitcoin’s strengthening bid wall?

Bitcoin exploits market swings

Bitcoin is turning volatility into a bullish lever. 

In the 2024 cycle, BTC peaked at $73k in March. Meanwhile, the 100–10k BTC whale cohort supply hit 550, before sliding to 510 by year-end, signaling profit-taking by these whale cohorts.

Yet, BTC pushed into price discovery with three consecutive ATHs in 2025, the latest hitting $124k. In short, while whale supply dropped 12%, BTC price soared 70%, showing inverse dynamics between the two.

Source: TradingView (BTC/USDT)

This divergence underscores Bitcoin’s structural resilience. 

In simple terms, declining whale supply is being absorbed by other on-chain participants, turning BTC volatility into a bullish lever and fueling liquid, reactive price rebounds. 

Crucially, unlike 2022, this dynamic prevents a bear-market scenario, which makes the recent drop of (100–10k BTC) per-whale supply a key liquidity event, reinforcing Bitcoin’s resilient market structure.