Bitcoin Investors Pivoting To Accumulation, But Mega Whales Are Still Selling

On-chain data shows the Bitcoin mega whales are still in a phase of distribution despite the other cohorts shifting to buying.

Bitcoin Mega Whales Have Continued To Sell During This Rally

According to the latest weekly report from Glassnode, the Bitcoin Accumulation Trend Score suggests a resurgence in buying among the investors. This on-chain indicator basically tells us whether the BTC holders are buying or selling.

The metric calculates its value by not only looking at the balance changes happening in the wallets of the investors, but also accounting for the size of the wallets themselves. This means that the behavior of the larger entities has a larger influence on the score.

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When the value of the indicator is above 0.5, it implies the large investors (or alternatively, a large number of small hands) are participating in accumulation. The closer is the indicator to 1, the stronger is this behavior.

On the other hand, the metric being under the threshold suggests distribution is the dominant behavior among BTC holders. The zero mark serves as the extreme level for this side of the scale.

Now, here’s the chart shared by Glassnode in the report that shows the trend in the Bitcoin Accumulation Trend Score separately for the various investor cohorts:

The value of the metric seems to be the highest for the sharks | Source: Glassnode’s The Week Onchain – Week 40, 2025

As displayed in the above graph, the Bitcoin Accumulation Trend Score assumed a neutral-distribution value across the market in mid-September, but a shift has occurred recently.

The sharks, investors holding between 100 to 1,000 BTC, were the first to pivot to buying. And it wasn’t just any degree of accumulation, but a strong one, with the metric sitting close to 1.

The 10 to 100 BTC cohort followed soon after, though its Accumulation Trend Score has still not achieved a value as high as the sharks’. Together, the buying from these mid-sized holders appears to be what backed the recent price surge to a new all-time high (ATH).

Very recently, the retail investors (below 1 BTC and 1 to 10 BTC groups) have also embraced accumulation, potentially attracted by the hype of the Bitcoin bull run.

While sharks and smaller entities have been accumulating, the top end of the scale has shown a different behavior. The whales (1,000 to 10,000 BTC) have continued to hold a neutral behavior, neither buying nor selling, while the largest of entities on the network, those holding above 10,000 BTC, have been in stark contrast to the sharks with their Accumulation Trend Score sitting deep in the distribution zone.