Bitcoin Whales Cash Out: Where’s The Smart Money Flowing Next?

Bitcoin's big players are taking profits—and the market's watching where that capital lands next.

The Whale Exodus

Major BTC holders are liquidating positions, creating ripple effects across crypto markets. These moves signal strategic repositioning rather than outright bearish sentiment.

Capital Migration Patterns

Institutional money rarely sits idle. When whales exit Bitcoin, they typically rotate into alternative digital assets or stablecoins awaiting new opportunities.

The Rotation Game

History shows whale profit-taking often precedes major sector rotations. Previous cycles saw capital flow into Ethereum, DeFi tokens, and emerging layer-1 protocols.

Meanwhile, traditional finance continues its slow dance with crypto—always two steps behind the actual money moves. The smart money moves first, the suits follow with PowerPoint presentations.

Lucid cuts forecast again and turns to Saudi funding

Lucid once again slashed its production outlook. The company now expects to produce around 18,000 vehicles this year, trimming both ends of its previous forecast range of 18,000 to 20,000 units.

At the start of the year, it had boldly aimed for 20,000. It also reduced its capital spending target, bringing the lower end down by $100 million to between $1 billion and $1.2 billion.

To keep itself funded, Lucid turned to its largest shareholder, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which agreed to boost an existing delayed draw term loan from $750 million to roughly $2 billion.

That pushed Lucid’s total liquidity to $5.5 billion, including the unused loan. The company said its cash pile stayed flat at around $1.6 billion, giving it enough fuel to keep going until early 2027.

The company is still trying to launch the long-awaited Gravity SUV, which has been slowed by supply chain chaos and internal missteps. Marc Winterhoff, Lucid’s interim CEO, admitted back in August that there were “problems with Gravity,” but told investors this week the company is still hoping to ramp deliveries by the fourth quarter.

“We remain intensely focused on ramping up production and addressing the significant supply chain disruptions impacting the entire industry,” Winterhoff said Wednesday.

CFO Taoufiq Boussaid added that while Gravity production improved from the previous quarter, it’s still at an “unmeaningful level.”

The company said it’s also exploring new financing options outside of Saudi support as it moves forward with the Gravity launch and a new midsize model that’s not expected to enter production before late 2026.

Rivian beats estimates and widens the gap with Lucid

Lucid’s numbers looked even worse next to Rivian’s third-quarter results. Rivian reported earnings and revenue that both topped Wall Street’s forecasts, helping its stock surge during Wednesday’s trading.

While Lucid shares are down more than 40% in 2025, Rivian’s are up around 16%, even after doing a 1-for-10 reverse split this summer.

Rivian also posted a surprise gross profit of $24 million, beating expectations of a $38.6 million loss, according to FactSet. That included gains from both its auto and software divisions.

“While we face near-term uncertainty from trade, tariffs, and regulatory policy, we remain focused on long-term growth and value creation,” Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe wrote in a shareholder letter.

Rivian didn’t change its already-lowered 2025 forecast: it’s still expecting to lose between $2 billion and $2.25 billion, spend $1.8 to $1.9 billion, and deliver between 41,500 and 43,500 vehicles this year.

The EV Maker also reaffirmed a plan to launch its R2 midsize SUV in the first half of 2026 at its plant in Illinois. It ended Q3 with $7.7 billion in liquidity, most of that in cash and short-term investments.

Scaringe said they’re “really well positioned” for the launch and don’t expect supply issues from China’s rare earth minerals or chips from Nexperia to delay the R2.

Meanwhile, Lucid’s Q3 vehicle deliveries hit 4,078, up from last year but still missing expectations.

The company also pointed to partnerships as a sign of progress, including a $300 million deal with Uber to deliver over 20,000 Gravity SUVs over six years, and an expanded agreement with Nvidia to use its tech in future autonomous vehicles.

Get up to $30,050 in trading rewards when you join Bybit today