Key Takeaways:

• A dormant Satoshi-era wallet’s $710M BTC buy has renewed accumulation speculation.
• Whales continue accumulating as retail investors take profits.
• Declining exchange balances point to tightening Bitcoin supply.

An X post on 5 January 2026, by account @CryptoNobler claimed a Bitcoin wallet dormant since 2012 had become active and bought 7,658 BTC, worth around $710 million. The post shared a screenshot from blockchain tracker Arkham Intelligence, labeling the wallet a “Satoshi-era Whale” and showing the transfer.

This apparent purchase coincides with broader patterns showing large investors buying while retail traders sell as Bitcoin consolidates between $90,000 and $93,000 at the time of writing.

Large holders drive Bitcoin accumulation wave

Bitcoin whales have actively accumulated BTC within the past four weeks, with multiple indicators pointing to sustained buying pressure from major holders. 

According to onchain analytics platform Santiment, wallets with 10 – 10,000 BTC (whales and sharks) have collectively added 56,227 more bitcoins since 17 December, 2025. This accumulation indicated BTC’s local bottom, the platform noted. Wallets containing over 1,000 BTC have purchased more, with a combined value of around $5 billion at the time of writing.

In another striking example, blockchain analytics service Lookonchain noted that three large wallets, potentially belonging to the same entity, acquired 3,000 BTC valued at around $280 million within just 10 hours. 

The buying extends beyond anonymous whales. Speaking at the NYT DealBook Summit on 4 December 2025, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink stated that sovereign wealth funds have been gradually adding Bitcoin exposure at various price levels, including $80,000, $100,000, and even above $120,000.

Meanwhile, retail investors appear to be moving in the opposite direction. Santiment observed that retail traders with wallets having lower than 0.01 BTC balance are now booking profits, “expecting that we’re presently in a bull trap (a false bullish signal).” 

The analytics firm concluded that this dynamic creates “a higher possibility to continue seeing the market cap growing throughout the crypto sector.” Crypto markets “usually follow how large whale and shark buyers trade, and tend to move opposite to smaller retail wallets,” Santiment added.

Exchange supply falls to seven-year low

Bitcoin’s availability on trading platforms has contracted significantly, with exchange balances dropping to approximately 13.7% (although this figure varies by provider), marking one of the lowest levels since 2018, according to CryptoQuant. On Binance specifically, exchange balances have tightened further to around 3.2%.

The outflow trend remains robust. Data shows around 10,000 BTC departed (net outflow) exchanges,  since the beginning of the new year. Over the last four months, nearly 200,000 BTC (net outflow) valued at around $18 billion has moved from exchanges into long-term storage wallets.

This sharp reduction in readily available supply reduces potential selling pressure and tightens the market, even as Bitcoin’s price remains relatively stable around $91,000 at the time of writing.

Onchain analyst, James Check, observed that Bitcoin has experienced significant supply redistribution in the background. He noted that profit-taking has declined and futures markets are witnessing a short-squeeze, though overall market leverage remains low. 

Despite these bullish accumulation signals, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju cautioned that capital inflows into Bitcoin have dried up as investor money rotates toward equities and precious metals, potentially leading to sideways price action in the coming months.