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- Bitcoin addresses with 100-1,000 BTC, known as Dolphins, have been consistently accumulating in 2025.
- Institutional investors and funds seem to be leading the accumulation, anticipating a potential market shift.
- Addresses with over 1,000 BTC have seen a significant decline, possibly indicating large holders cashing out.
The distribution patterns of Bitcoin in 2025 point to an interesting direction. Analyst Joao Wedson highlighted that it is only addresses with 100 to 1,000 BTC, so-called Dolphins, that have been continually accumulating Bitcoin. In the meantime, smaller and larger holders are mostly selling or decreasing their market positions.
The analysis of Wedson is based on the Accumulation Trend – Heatmap Cohort, which is an on-chain metric that monitors the net changes of the Bitcoin holdings by address ranges. The analysis reveals that the Dolphins are the main whales contributing to the accumulation of BTC by comparing the current data and the data from the past 60 days. The activity of this group can be compared with other groups that are either dumping or distributing their Bitcoin.
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Strategic Bitcoin Accumulation
These transfers of Bitcoin to these Dolphin wallets are probably indicative of a coordinated action by institutional buyers, funds, or sophisticated long-term individual investors. These holders may be awaiting a possible change in the market or are hoping that the price will explode. The accumulation pattern evidences a segregation in the market behavior, where the mid-tier holders are benefiting from the prevailing market conditions, whereas others are withdrawing.
When reviewing the behavior of the Dolphin cohort, the same trend occurred in April 2021. As the euphoric rise of Bitcoins faded, a large amount of Bitcoins flowed into these addresses. Another such increase happened in December 2024. Although historical performance does not indicate future results, the trendline indicates that Bitcoin may undergo another upsurge in case the trend persists.
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Contrarily, the addresses holding over 1,000 BTC have experienced a major decrease in their balances. These big wallets have issued over 546,000 BTC since July 2024. It may be a sign that large institutional investors or high-net-worth individuals are selling, but it can also be explained by the increasing presence of exchange wallets in the top address rankings.
Source: X
Bitcoin Market Insights
The observation of strategic accumulation is also evidenced by the rapid increase in the amount of Bitcoin held by Dolphin addresses. It is also probable that these intermediate holders are anticipating future price rises. And are using the situation in the market to their advantage to build their stakes.
In future posts, Wedson will investigate other market indicators, including SEC filings and OTC desk trades. These numbers, plus the distribution of Bitcoin movement between big and small addresses. Will give a better idea of what is happening in the Bitcoin market.
