Bitcoin moved a lot in a short time. It climbed above $126,000 in early October. Then it dropped hard to around $60,000. It has since risen a bit, trading near $68,000. Even after such big swings, many buyers keep coming into the market. They are betting that the price will go higher again in the future.
But not every group is buying at the same pace. A certain group of Bitcoin holders is slowing down their buying. This has lead to a quieter market in the short term, even as some big buyers remain active.
Demand slowing among short-term holders
Analysts looked at a data source called Alphractal. They studied a metric called the Short-Term Holder Net Position Change over 90 days. This measure tracks how much Bitcoin is held by people who bought it in the last 90 days and whether those holders are adding more Bitcoin or selling. The latest data shows this net position change is still positive, meaning there is some ongoing buying by short-term holders. But the pace of that buying has slowed a lot in recent days.
In other words, people who bought Bitcoin recently are not accumulating as quickly as they did before. This slowing is a signal to some analysts. It can point to weaker short-term demand momentum. In past market patterns, slower short-term demand has been followed by periods of price consolidation—where prices move sideways—and more volatility, or even a shift into a new market phase.
Joao Wedson, the founder of Alphractal, explained that recent buying by institutions has not translated into stronger demand from short-term holders. He said that even if some big investors are increasing their positions, looking at a few separate buyers isn’t enough to understand the whole market. The better way, he said, is to examine data across the entire Bitcoin network to understand real demand. In simple terms: it’s not enough to count a few big buyers. You have to look at the whole system to know how much demand there really is across all buyers and sellers.
How big holders (whales) are behaving
Another data source, CryptoQuant, tells a different story. It tracks what they call whales—very large holders of Bitcoin. According to CryptoQuant, whale accumulation has risen by more than 200,000 BTC in the recent period. This means a lot of big holders are adding to their stacks again.
At the same time, inflows of Bitcoin to exchanges—where people can sell—have increased. But even with more coins moving toward exchanges, the total holdings of whales have continued to grow. To get a clearer picture, CryptoQuant looks at monthly averages of whale-held supply, rather than just daily movements. They noticed a shift during December. The monthly measure had fallen to nearly -7% on December 15, but in the past month, whale holdings rose by about 3.4%.
Put another way: the number of coins held by whales rose from about 2.9 million BTC to over 3.1 million BTC in the recent period. The last time we saw this level of accumulation by whales was during the April 2025 market correction. At that time, whale buying helped absorb selling pressure and helped Bitcoin move up from around $76,000 to a high near $126,000.
CryptoQuant notes that the current price is still consolidating roughly 46% below its all-time high. In this context, some whale buyers may be taking advantage of lower prices to add to their long-term positions. They might expect the price to rise again if demand strengthens or if buyers return more broadly to the market.
The overall picture, then, is mixed. Short-term holders appear to be slowing their buying, while whales continue to accumulate. Institutions are buying too, but their impact on short-term demand is not yet making the same strong signal as it did a while ago. Investors will be watching to see whether demand from different groups can align to push Bitcoin higher, or whether the market continues to trade within a wide range for some time.
The article that discussed these observations was originally published by CryptoPotato and is being shared here to explain how different kinds of buyers are affecting Bitcoin’s price today.
Key terms explained, with simple definitions
- Bitcoin – Bitcoin is the first decentralized cryptocurrency. It works on a peer-to-peer network without a central government. It uses a public record called a blockchain and a process called mining to confirm transactions.
- Blockchain – A blockchain is a shared, public ledger of all transactions. It is made of blocks of data linked together in a chain. It is kept safe by a network of computers that agree on the record of transactions.
- Bitcoin mining – Bitcoin mining is the method by which new bitcoins are created and transactions are added to the blockchain. It uses a system called proof of work to verify and secure transactions.
- Institutional investor – An institutional investor is a large organization that pools money to buy securities and other assets. Examples include banks, pension funds, and hedge funds.
- Cryptocurrency exchange – A cryptocurrency exchange is a platform where people can trade cryptocurrencies for other assets, such as money or other digital currencies.
For readers who want to see more of the original reporting, the source article is from CryptoPotato.
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