Large Bitcoin whales reportedly bought around $4.6 billion worth of BTC in a single week, even as the price slid toward the mid-$80,000s. That means big money stepped in while many smaller investors backed away.
The move occurs in a year where Bitcoin continues to swing wildly after each rally, while everyone waits to see if one last big push comes before 2026. Luckily, here at 99Bitcoins, we have years of experience cutting through on-chain data, so you don’t have to – let’s take a look.
What Does This Bitcoin Whales Buying Spree Mean in Simple Terms?
When people say “Bitcoin whales,” they mean wallets that hold huge stacks of Bitcoin, often thousands of BTC. Think of them as the hedge funds and mega-players at the poker table, while most of us sit at the small-stakes table.
On-chain data from Glassnode shows that these whales acquired approximately 54,000 BTC in a week, marking the fastest weekly buying since 2012.
Recent headlines highlight Bitcoin “sharks” adding ~54K BTC in a week. 👀
In this 🧵, we aim to complete that picture, using @glassnode’s on-chain tools as a forensic lens to examine this hypothesis deeper.
📉 https://t.co/mcZF0zd4PU pic.twitter.com/J1fGcpNv3e— CryptoVizArt.₿ (@CryptoVizArt) December 18, 2025
Yet, the key question remains: is this just on-chain shuffling or actually net accumulation?
Wallet reshuffling is a risk management tool for large entities to split or merge balances across new or existing addresses, often for accounting purposes.
With the majority of coin movements originating from significant entities holding more than 100,000 Bitcoins, it becomes clear that these movements are more likely to be wallet reshuffling by entities like Binance than a frenzy by a huge whale.
One notable characteristic that reinforces this was that buying came while BTC USD price dropped, not after a bounce. According to James Van Straten, writing in CoinDesk, big players already did something similar back in April 2025, when they started buying again after months of selling. So you have a pattern: corrections scare out smaller holders while deep-pocket buyers quietly load up.
Analytics firm Santiment notes that wallets with at least 100 BTC have grown by 0.47% since November 11, while small wallets with 0.1 BTC or less have continued to shrink. That suggests many retail investors gave up or scaled down just as bigger wallets stepped back in. Santiment even called this “retail capitulation,” which is a fancy way of saying smaller players tapped out and sold low.
We see the same theme in other selloffs this year. According to William Carey of Ainvest, whales absorbed more than 123,000 BTC during another heavy dump in late 2025, and Coinotag tracked 30,000 BTC bought in four days during a June dip. This is not a one-off event; it is how big players treat deep red days.
If you want a real-world parallel, imagine a blue-chip stock dropping 15–20% and retirement funds quietly increasing their positions while retail traders rage-quit. Price looks weak on the surface, but ownership quietly shifts from nervous hands to patient ones.
We have seen this movie before on 99Bitcoins. Our coverage of institutional Bitcoin accumulation and MicroStrategy Bitcoin purchases shows the same “buy the fear” playbook in action.
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Bitcoin Whales Appetite Grows: What Does This Mean for a Possible Late 2025 Bitcoin Rally?
Big names sound very confident. Tom Lee recently stated at Binance Blockchain Week that Bitcoin could reach $250,000 within months, and Charles Hoskinson told CNBC that he expects $250,000 by 2026. Michael Saylor talks about long-term targets in the millions. These views fuel the “last big 2025 rally” story that you see all over crypto Twitter.
Tom Lee is calling for $250k, but as an analyst who watched the 2021 double-top, I’m wary of the ‘this time is different’ narrative. Whale buying is a floor, not a rocket ship – especially when you project the required market cap for such grand predictions.
Whale buying aligns with that bullish narrative: if they anticipate significantly higher prices later, then buying at five-figure dips appears to be a smart move. But technical analysts are not cheering yet.
But it’s important to remember that this isn’t occurring in a vacuum, following the Fed’s December rate cut (25bps), it is possible that smart money is front running an expected 2026 liquidity injections – which tracks with this wave of accumulation coming just ahead of US CPI data and the Bank of England rate cut decision.
Some roadmaps call for a possible drop to the $70,000–$72,000 area before any strong bounce. We saw similar behavior earlier in the year when Bitcoin price volatility wiped out overleveraged longs before the price recovered.
So, what does this mean for you? Whale accumulation of Bitcoin liquidations and institutional demand coverage, on-chain analytics, and the Fear & Greed Index can help you distinguish between panic and align with long-term bottoms or, at the very least, with strong recovery zones. It does not indicate where the price will close this week. It tells you where the biggest players feel comfortable buying size, even if things get uglier first.
If you are a long-term believer in Bitcoin, whale buying during fear supports a dollar-cost averaging approach. That means buying a fixed amount at regular intervals, instead of guessing tops and bottoms. Tools like Bitcoin liquidations and institutional demand coverage, on-chain analytics, and the Fear & Greed Index can help you distinguish between panic and opportunity.
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Bitcoin Whales Bidding: How Should Beginners Handle This Without Getting Reckless?
First, remember that whales have deeper pockets and longer time horizons than you. They can sit through a 30–40% drawdown without losing sleep. You still need an emergency fund, a life, and money for rent. Never copy whale behavior with your full net worth.
Second, the short-term downside remains real. Technical setups indicating $70,000–$72,000 mean that anyone who enters with leverage risks liquidation if the BTC USD price takes that last leg down. Buying spot Bitcoin slowly and without borrowed money gives you breathing room if that scenario plays out.
Third, separate the dream from the data. Price targets like $250,000 help frame long-term upside, but they are not guarantees. What you can treat as hard data: on-chain flows showing where coins move, how many long-term holders keep stacking, and when retail holders give up.
For example, whales even purchased 1,465 BTC in six hours during a recent dip, which again demonstrates how quickly big money can act.
If you feel FOMO building, slow down and turn it into a plan. Don’t trade on emotions. Decide how much of your total net worth you are comfortable putting in Bitcoin over the next 6–12 months. Break that into small buys, and ignore the urge to “all in” after a single bullish headline or tweet.
Whale accumulation sends a strong long-term signal, but your job is not to guess tomorrow’s candle. Your job is to build a position size and strategy that still lets you sleep when Bitcoin swings thousands of dollars in a day.
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The post Bitcoin Whales Scoop $4.6B on the Dip – Smart Signal or Bull Trap? appeared first on 99Bitcoins.
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