Bitcoin whale activity is spiking sharply as the market faces intensified selling pressure, with analysts warning this week could become the most active whale-trading week of 2025. According to data shared by the market intelligence platform Santiment, large Bitcoin holders have dramatically increased their transaction volume following BTC’s drop below $90,000, marking its lowest level in seven months.
Santiment reported tracking more than 102,000 whale transactions over $100,000 and an additional 29,000 transactions above $1 million. The firm noted that whale behavior appears to be shifting, moving slowly from heavy selling to renewed accumulation.
“This week has a good chance of ending up as the most active whale week of 2025,” Santiment said, adding that the broader context shows whales beginning to accumulate after earlier rounds of aggressive selling.
Analysts Suggest Whales Are Buying the Dip
While some traders blamed whales for triggering the broader market decline, data from Glassnode shows that large wallets holding over 1,000 BTC have been steadily accumulating since late October, with a notable spike beginning last Friday.
Speaking with Cointelegraph, Pav Hundal, lead analyst at Swyftx, said that recent trading activity appears heavily influenced by news cycles and geopolitical tensions in the United States. According to Hundal, both whales and retail traders stepped in following Nvidia’s strong earnings report, with Swyftx recording a 10:1 buy-to-sell ratio, far above the typical 3:1 average.
Hundal added that the recent market turmoil represents an overdue “mechanical shakeout,” pushing short-term holders out while stronger hands accumulate.
Bitwise Asset Management’s European Managing Director, Bradley Duke, echoed the sentiment, stating that while panic spread across retail markets, large holders continued to “buy the dip,” accumulating discounted Bitcoin from weaker hands.
Analysts Point to Signs of Forced Selling
Meanwhile, Tushar Jain, co-founder of Multicoin Capital, suggested that the recent pattern of selling resembles activity from a major forced liquidation. In an X post, he highlighted systematic sell-offs occurring at specific intervals, possibly linked to large-scale unwinding of leveraged positions.
“It feels like a big forced seller is in the market. Hard to imagine this scale of forced selling continues for much longer,” Jain said.
His comments align with predictions from BitMine chairman Tom Lee and Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan, who both forecast earlier this week that Bitcoin could be nearing its short-term bottom.
With whale accumulation rising, analysts are watching closely to determine whether BTC’s dip below $90,000 represents a buying opportunity or an early signal of deeper market volatility.