Minor investors are acquiring bitcoin. For a surge to occur, larger holders must participate.

Smaller wallets have augmented their BTC holdings by 2.5% since the record high in October, while larger holders have reduced their positions by 0.8%, according to data from Santiment.

(iStock modified by CoinDesk)

Key points:

• Bitcoin wallets with less than 0.1 BTC have raised their share of supply to the highest level since mid-2024, even as prices hover in the mid-$60,000s.
• Larger holders, classified as whales and sharks, who usually influence significant market movements have decreased their holdings since the peak in October.
• This disparity contributes to volatile price behavior as retail demand alone cannot sustain upward trends when larger wallets are selling during every recovery.

Throughout much of this month, bitcoin BTC$67,846.96 has been fluctuating around the mid-$60,000s, a rather mundane situation.

However, a noteworthy development is occurring in the ownership distribution of bitcoin, which may influence future movements.

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Data from Santiment reveals that the number of wallets holding less than 0.1 BTC, typically associated with retail investors, has grown by 2.5% since bitcoin reached its all-time high in October. This increase has elevated the so-called shrimps’ share of supply to its highest since mid-2024.

Conversely, it is primarily the larger holders, referred to as whales and sharks, who usually dictate price trends. These investors, with wallets containing between 10 and 10,000 BTC, have reduced their holdings by approximately 0.8%.

This kind of disparity often leads to volatile and uneven price movements instead of clear trends.

While retail investors provide a support base and can initiate short-term momentum, sustained rallies depend on larger players willing to purchase available assets.

This divergence is particularly significant given that the situation appeared different just a few weeks prior.

After bitcoin fell towards $60,000 on February 5 — a decline of over 50% from its October peak — Glassnode’s Accumulation Trend Score rose to 0.68, marking the strongest broad-based reading since late November, as previously reported by CoinDesk.

Glassnode’s metric evaluates the relative strength of accumulation across various wallet sizes, considering both the size of the entity and the amount of BTC accumulated over the last 15 days. A score closer to 1 indicates accumulation, while a score nearer to 0 signifies distribution.

During the market flash, the 10-to-100 BTC group was the most active in buying during the dip, suggesting a shift from capitulation to a more synchronized market behavior.

However, Santiment’s broader perspective complicates this interpretation. Its range of 10-to-10,000 BTC encompasses a larger portion of significant holders than Glassnode’s dip-buying group, and overall positioning since October remains negative across this full spectrum.

One way to reconcile these differing perspectives is to consider that mid-sized wallets may have genuinely capitalized on the panic while the largest holders continued to sell during every recovery, pulling the aggregate number down.

This distinction is important because bitcoin does not rely solely on retail participation for momentum; retail investors are already present.

What is required is for the selling from large wallets to cease or, ideally, reverse. Without this shift, every rally faces the risk of being countered by the very group that must contribute to structural demand for success.

The smaller holders are fulfilling their role; they are anticipating the participation of the larger holders.