Long-term Bitcoin holders' selling pressure eases, Ethereum whales ramp up accumulation efforts

Long-term Bitcoin holders have paused their sell-off for the first time since July 2025, marking the first such pause in months and potentially signaling a relief rally in response to holiday market volatility. Meanwhile, Bitcoin whales have been aggressively accumulating over 100,000 ETH in recent days, indicating that “smart money” is positioning for a rebound. According to on-chain data from CryptoQuant, wallets holding Bitcoin (BTC) for at least 155 days—commonly referred to as long-term holders (LTH)—reduced their total holdings from 14.8 million in mid-July to 14.3 million in December. This phase of distribution, which previously exerted downward pressure on prices, appears to have halted, with long-term holders beginning to accumulate modestly. Cryptocurrency investor Ted Pillows tweeted: “Long-term holders have stopped selling Bitcoin for the first time since July 2025. This is a good sign for a relief rally.” Long-term holders have stopped selling $BTC for the first time since July 2025. Things are looking good for a relief rally here. pic.twitter.com/t7Sl2S9Ub — Ted (@TedPillows) December 29, 2025 This breathing space emerges amid a generally cautious market environment. Bitcoin has fluctuated within a narrow range of $86,744 to $90,064 over the past week, closing around $87,314 on Monday, up 3.09%. The Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Index, which measures institutional demand in the US, remains negative, reflecting ongoing selling pressure and declining risk appetite. As investors rebalanced their positions during the holiday season amid liquidity scarcity, Bitcoin spot ETF outflows reached $782 million during the Christmas week. Santiment analysts pointed out that there was a surge in “Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt” (FUD) around Christmas, with prices briefly breaking above $90,000 before falling back below $87,000, often contrary to trader sentiment. On the X platform, discussions also leaned bearish, with one user advising retail investors to employ dollar-cost averaging (DCA) strategies for strategic entries in low liquidity environments. Meanwhile, ETH whales (addresses holding 1,000 or more tokens) accelerated their accumulation, adding approximately 120,000 ETH since December 26, worth about $354 million at current prices. These large holders now control roughly 70% of ETH supply, a ratio that has steadily increased since late 2024. Milk Road analysts believe this trend indicates the market may be undervaluing Ethereum’s upside potential, noting: “If this behavior continues, the market may not have fully priced in smart money’s expectations for Ethereum’s future.” On Monday, ETH traded at $2,944, up 3.27%, but underperformed Bitcoin this year amid a generally weak altcoin market. Former BitForex CEO Garrett Jin predicted that funds might flow from recently rising precious metals like silver, palladium, and platinum into BTC and ETH, potentially triggering a short squeeze. These contrasting behaviors highlight that by the end of 2025, the cryptocurrency market is maturing, with institutional and whale activity increasingly dominating capital flows. Earlier this year, Bitcoin whales reactivated dormant holdings, transferring billions after the price hit over $126,000 in October, in what was described as a “major reallocation,” followed by a market correction of over 30%. VanEck’s mid-December ChainCheck report emphasized the divergence between “diamond hands”: mid-term holders selling, while ultra-long-term holders remain steadfast.