 
 
Bitcoin (BTC) continued to trade mostly flat this week, moving within a tight range between roughly $88,000 and $89,500 as lower weekend liquidity kept price action subdued.
More broadly, the cryptocurrency has shown weakness throughout the week, shedding just over 8% as traders remained cautious and adopted a wait-and-see approach amid heightened global geopolitical uncertainty.
Meanwhile, beneath this sluggish surface, signs of renewed confidence are emerging, particularly from whales. On Sunday, crypto analytics firm Santiment reported that wallets holding at least 1,000 BTC have collectively added 104,340 coins, representing a 1.5% increase in holdings for this cohort.
At the same time, the number of daily transactions exceeding $1 million rose to two-month highs, indicating a resurgence in large-scale capital flows.
“Large Bitcoin whales are accumulating at an encouraging pace,” Santiment noted, adding that the rebound in high-value transfers reflects growing activity among institutional and high-net-worth participants.
 
Such behavior is often interpreted as strategic positioning, particularly when it occurs during periods of low volatility and sideways price action.
Earlier in the week, CryptoQuant echoed this view, describing the current phase as one of “structural accumulation rather than distribution.” According to its analysis, whales have continued to build positions since January despite short-term corrections and heightened geopolitical uncertainty, while retail investors have gradually reduced exposure.
“The market has shaken, but whale conviction has not,” the firm noted.
Elsewhere, popular analyst Maartunn highlighted a surge in bullish derivatives activity, noting that large long positions are piling into BitMEX, with Bitcoin’s Taker Buy/Sell Ratio spiking to 16. According to him, this extreme imbalance indicates aggressive market buying and strong long positions over the past hour, a signal that traders may be positioning for upside momentum.
At the same time, the latest accumulation wave has shifted a significant share of circulating BTC into long-term wallets, further reducing the readily available supply. The rebound in million-dollar-plus transactions reinforces this trend, suggesting that whales are actively repositioning themselves as they prepare for potential market volatility.
Historically, such accumulation phases have often preceded periods of heightened volatility. When large holders steadily absorb supply during consolidation, exchange liquidity tightens, leaving prices more sensitive and prone to sharper moves once demand returns.
Meanwhile, analysts note that the current accumulation is unfolding largely independently of traditional safe-haven assets such as gold. That view, however, is being challenged by some analysts. Cryptorus argued that a rotation from gold into Bitcoin may be “overdue,” pointing to the BTC-to-gold ratio as a rare outlier.
According to him, either Bitcoin rallies sharply to realign with gold, or capital eventually flows from the precious metal back into BTC, different paths, but both imply significant upside potential for the cryptocurrency.
At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $83,821, down 6.22% in the past 24 hours.
Source: https://zycrypto.com/bitcoin-whales-step-up-buying-as-high-value-transactions-rebound/