Long-term Bitcoin (BTC) holders appear to have finally put a pause on their selling activity, marking the first such instance since July 2025. This shift in behavior among long-term holders coincides with notable accumulation of Ethereum (ETH) by large wallet addresses, often referred to as "whales".
Throughout the latter half of 2025, long-term Bitcoin holders, defined as those holding BTC for at least 155 days, had been steadily reducing their balances. From mid-July to December, these wallets decreased their holdings from 14.8 million to 14.3 million coins. However, recent data indicates that this trend has halted, suggesting a potential change in sentiment among this key investor group. According to investor Ted Pillows, this could signal the beginning of a relief rally.
Simultaneously, Ethereum's market dynamics are showing a different pattern. On December 26, 2025, large ETH addresses began accumulating the cryptocurrency, adding approximately 120,000 ETH to their holdings. This accumulation trend suggests that whales anticipate future gains, despite the current price of ETH remaining relatively stable. As of December 29, 2025, ETH was trading at approximately $2,980, marking a 1.15% increase over the previous 24 hours.
This divergence in behavior between Bitcoin's long-term holders and Ethereum whales highlights interesting undercurrents in the crypto market. While it is tempting to see that retail investors are slowing down, whales are beginning to enter. On December 28, BitMine Immersion Technologies purchased approximately 103,000 ETH, increasing their staked holdings to 257,600 coins, around $750 million. This places them among the largest institutional holders, with over 4 million ETH in total.
Analysts at Milk Road suggest that addresses holding 1,000+ ETH now control roughly 70% of the supply, a share that has been rising since late 2024. If this behavior continues, the market may not fully be pricing in where the smart money expects Ethereum to go next.
Several factors could be contributing to these trends. Garrett Jin, former CEO of BitForex, suggested that capital may rotate toward BTC and ETH as momentum in metals cools. Additionally, Ethereum's increasing utility, particularly in decentralized finance (DeFi) and the tokenization of real-world assets, may be attracting long-term investment. Real-world asset tokenization surged to $18.9B in 2025, with Ethereum dominating the space and keeping long-term bulls optimistic about $7K-$9K targets.
It's important to note that the cryptocurrency market remains volatile, and past performance is not indicative of future results. Bitcoin traded between $86,744 and $90,064 over the past week, and sentiment stayed cautious. Still, the pause in selling from long-term Bitcoin holders, coupled with the accumulation of Ethereum by whales, could signal a shift in market dynamics as 2026 approaches.
