Major holders of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and $XRP are increasing their positions amid price pressure. Analysts at CryptoQuant stated this, as reported by The Block.
Head of Research Julio Moreno noted that the largest groups of cryptocurrency holders are increasing their reserves while quotes are hovering near or below the realized price. According to his assessment, such behavior reduces seller pressure and appears more like the final phase of a bear market.
The balance of Bitcoin whales (excluding exchanges and mining pools) increased to approximately 3.06 million $BTC after a low of around 2.87 million $BTC in December 2025. However, this figure is still below the bull market peak of that period—around 3.23 million $BTC.
According to CryptoQuant, for most of 2026, the 30-day increase in whale balances remained positive. Accumulation accelerated in June when the price of digital gold dipped towards $60,000.
For Ethereum, CryptoQuant recorded mixed dynamics. Wallets holding 10,000-100,000 $ETH accumulated the asset and brought the balance to a record 19.6 million $ETH (compared to 14 million $ETH in mid-2025).
The group holding 1,000-10,000 $ETH, on the contrary, reduced reserves from 15.6 million at the beginning of the current year to 12.9 million $ETH. Wallets with more than 100,000 $ETH increased their aggregate balance from 2.6 million to 4.6 million $ETH.
"This is what capital accumulation in a bear market looks like: strong holders absorbing the weak. Concentration in the hands of large holders narrows the available supply and is a positive factor for $ETH once demand recovers—even if the price is below its cost basis," emphasized Moreno.
Regarding $XRP, large players are acting less straightforwardly, CryptoQuant indicated. Spot order sizes remain in the "large whale" zone while the price holds in the $1-1.2 range. Meanwhile, the cumulative volume delta has moved into the neutral zone—this looks more like accumulation through absorbing supply rather than through aggressive buying.
Separately, analysts compared market quotes with the realized price of the coins:
- Bitcoin is trading around $64,640 with a realized price of $52,900;
- Ethereum—$1,900 against $2,450;
- $XRP—$1.1 against $0.75.
Moreno added that the risk-reward ratio has noticeably decreased since the beginning of the bear market, but the model for further movement allows for another wave of decline before confirming a bottom.
Recall that in August, Glassnode analysts recorded a record-long capitulation phase for Bitcoin.
