Bitcoin (BTC) whales took advantage of the market decline to accumulate a volume of 66,940 BTC in their accumulator wallets on February 6, marking a maximum in the behavior of large investors during the current cycle.
This massive influx of capital occurred just after the price of bitcoin hit $60,000 on February 5, reaching lows not seen since October 2024.
These investors, with more than 1,000 coins in their wallets, absorbed the available supply during the pullback, sending the asset to long-term custody wallets.
It was the largest entry in this cycle, as indicated by the on-chain data platform CryptoQuant, which identified the movement in this cohort of addresses, as can be seen in the graph.
The flow was directed to wallets that only receive bitcoin on a sustained basis, without recording expenses or outputs.which typically characterizes whales, institutions or long-term investors.
This behavior occurs in a context in which bitcoin reached an all-time high of $126,000 in October. Since then, it suffered a drop of around 50%. Last week alone, the price fell more than 20% to almost $60,000, then rebounded to $71,000 today.
Although the outlook looks bleak for BTC and the cryptocurrency market, the performance of the whales—at least until last week—can be interpreted as positive. As the market showed fear and the price fell, the big players bought at low prices and withdrew the asset from circulation, convinced that the price will rise in the future.
Capitulation and liquidity flow
This absorption phenomenon coincides with an increase in the flow of stablecoins to exchanges, which can be interpreted as renewed interest in bitcoin and cryptocurrencies by investors. As reported by NoticiasVE, around $102 billion in stablecoins (mainly USDT and USDC) have been transferred to trading platforms.
However, this does not guarantee an immediate price increase, as the possibility that bitcoin continues to correct remains open, warns Joao Wedson, founder and CEO of Alphactal, a market intelligence firm specializing in cryptocurrencies.
The specialist analyzes the scenario using the Market Capitulation Oscillator, which measures the intensity of the selling pressure based on the hash rate and the magnitude of the price decline.
According to the metrics, The market is officially in a capitulation phase, marked by large losses realized. Wedson believes that the market has not yet stopped suffering and emphasizes that this process is not abrupt, it is gradual and must include multiple failed attempts at price recovery.
The accumulation of whales suggests that the market bottom could be near, but the technical structure indicates that volatility will persist as supply is transferred from weak hands to investors with higher conviction.