Bitcoin is trading near $78,000, and on-chain data shows a sharp split in market behavior: the biggest holders are still buying, while nearly everyone else is selling. According to Glassnode, wallets holding 10,000 BTC or more are the only cohort still accumulating during the latest drop.
Glassnode’s Accumulation Trend Score tracks wallet groups by balance size and how much bitcoin they acquired over the past 15 days. A score closer to 1 points to buying, while a reading near 0 signals distribution. By that measure, the largest whales remain in a phase of light accumulation and have kept a neutral to slightly positive balance trend since bitcoin fell to $80,000 in late November.
Retail wallets remain persistent sellers
Smaller holder groups are moving the other way. Glassnode data shows all lower cohorts are net sellers, with the heaviest pressure coming from retail wallets holding less than 10 BTC. This segment has been selling for more than a month, a sign that smaller market participants are still reducing exposure as prices weaken.
That contrast stands out even more against bitcoin’s recent trading range. From late November through the end of January, the asset mostly consolidated between $80,000 and $97,000. Now, with bitcoin around $78,000 based on CoinDesk data, the gap between large buyers and smaller sellers is easier to see on-chain.
1,000 BTC entities continue to grow
Another data point points in the same direction. The number of unique entities holding at least 1,000 BTC has climbed from 1,207 in October to 1,303. Since bitcoin’s October all-time high, that increase suggests larger holders have been adding into the correction rather than stepping away.
Whales with at least 1,000 BTC are now back at December 2024 highs. Taken together, the on-chain readings show large players absorbing supply during the downturn, while smaller holders continue heading for the exit.