Long-term Bitcoin holders appear to have paused their selling for the first time in six months, while large Ether holders have stepped up accumulation.
Wallets that have held Bitcoin for at least 155 days reduced their combined holdings from about 14.8 million BTC in mid-July to roughly 14.3 million BTC by December. However, crypto investor and entrepreneur Ted Pillows noted in a post on X on Monday that the pace of selling has now slowed.
“Long-term holders have stopped selling Bitcoin for the first time since July 2025,” he wrote. “Things are looking good for a relief rally here.”
Large holders continue to shape crypto markets
Generally, whales and other large holders are considered key market movers, as their trades can significantly influence price action, liquidity, and investor sentiment.
Ether whales increase holdings
Ether whales have been accumulating steadily over the past week. Analysts at crypto newsletter Milk Road, citing CryptoQuant data, reported that large holders added roughly 120,000 ETH since Dec. 26.
“Addresses holding 1,000+ ETH now control about 70% of the total supply, a share that has been rising since late 2024,” the analysts said. “If this trend continues, the market may not fully reflect where the smart money expects Ethereum to head next.”
Garrett Jin, former CEO of the now-defunct exchange BitForex, also predicted additional inflows into Bitcoin and Ether as investors rotate out of precious metals such as silver, palladium, and platinum, which have seen strong recent gains.
“The short squeeze in metals is over, as expected. Capital is beginning to flow into crypto,” he said.
Traders remain cautious after Christmas FUD
Bitcoin has traded in a range of $86,744 to $90,064 over the past week. Analysts at market intelligence platform Santiment noted that a surge in fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) coincided with rising prices over the Christmas period, reflecting the tendency of markets to move opposite to trader sentiment.
“Following the Christmas weekend, Bitcoin surged back above $90K and then fell below $87K,” Santiment analysts said. “The rise came while FUD was very high, as usual. Now that prices have dropped again, traders are approaching the market cautiously.”
US traders driving some selloff
Some of the recent selling pressure may be attributed to US-based traders exiting positions. Coinglass’s Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Index, which measures the price difference between Bitcoin on Coinbase and the global market average, has remained negative, indicating continued local selling.
When the index is negative, it typically reflects selling pressure in the US market, declining investor risk appetite, and rising risk aversion, according to its description.
