CryptoQuant: Major Bitcoin Holders Pause Buying as Demand Slows

The holding structure for large Bitcoin holders is said by CryptoQuant to be deteriorating, a pattern that has historically preceded periods of “sustained price weakness.”

An increasing number of Bitcoin holders are seeing their investments turn negative as deterioration in the holding structure continues to be observed across major cohorts, according to CryptoQuant.

Annual balance growth for whale accounts holding between 1,000 and 10,000 Bitcoin has turned negative in the fastest contraction recorded this year, according to a report published by CryptoQuant on Thursday.

Monthly growth has been reported as flat since February, with a shift from accumulation toward mild distribution being suggested—mirroring conditions seen in the 2022 bear market, it added.

Bitcoin “dolphins”, who hold between 100 and 1,000 Bitcoin and are largely dominated by exchange-traded funds and corporate treasuries, are still reported to be growing on an annual basis, although that growth has sharply decelerated.

Monthly balance growth remains near zero across both cohorts, with successive lower highs having been printed by dolphin balances since September 2025, CryptoQuant said. Historically, such periods preceded “sustained price weakness,” as these cohorts collectively represent the “primary source of structural demand support in Bitcoin markets,” it added.

The weakening holding structure is emerging as the crypto bear market deepens amid growing macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds.

CryptoQuant Warns Bitcoin Holding Structure Signals Bearish Market Conditions

CryptoQuant said that long-term holder supply reached a fresh record of 15.8 million Bitcoin, though the configuration was described as bearish because it signals a lack of new market entrants.

Tim Sun of HashKey Group told that after Bitcoin pulled back from its October peak, “the highest proportion of supply in unrealized loss once approached 50%, marking the highest level since the bottom of the 2022 bear market.”

CryptoQuant said the holding structure for major Bitcoin holders is deteriorating, a trend that has historically been linked to “sustained price weakness.”

The analyst “Darkfost” said on Thursday that the current range-bound market remains difficult for investors to navigate, “with euphoria emerging whenever Bitcoin approaches the upper end of the range, while pessimism quickly returns as price moves closer to the lower boundary.”

He added that at current prices near $73,700, around 40% of the supply had been acquired at higher levels and was being held at a loss.