Large holders of Bitcoin, Ether, and XRP have persisted in their accumulation efforts amid the recent market downturn, according to an analytics firm. The firm’s weekly report, Buying the Bear: A Signal of the Bear Market’s Final Stage, analysed the recent accumulation by the largest wallets. The consistent purchasing indicates a pattern frequently observed in the concluding stages of a bear market. For Bitcoin, wallets associated with significant holders, excluding exchanges and miners, increased their total balance to approximately 3.06 million BTC this year. Purchasing activity intensified following Bitcoin’s decline beneath $60,000 in June, although total holdings continue to lag behind the peak observed in the 2025 cycle.
Ethereum exhibited a notably robust accumulation trend among its most significant holders. Wallets containing between 10,000 and 100,000 ETH have achieved a historic high of 19.6 million ETH. Addresses holding over 100,000 ETH have increased their total by approximately 1.8 million ETH since mid-2025, resulting in a rise of about 70% in their holdings. The accumulation trend diverged from the behaviour observed among smaller Ethereum holders. Source noted that wallets outside the largest groups reduced their combined balance by about 2.7 million ETH since January, indicating an increasing disparity between large and smaller holders.
A similar shift was also observable in XRP, as large holders persistently augmented their positions notwithstanding prevailing fears and liquidations. The recent accumulation occurs as all three assets are trading close to significant realised price levels. Realised price serves as a crucial metric for evaluating market cycles, as it provides an estimate of the average acquisition cost incurred by holders. Bitcoin was trading around 65,000 compared with a realised price of roughly 52,900, while Ether changed hands near 1,920 against a realised price of about 2,450.
XRP traded near $1.04 with a realised price of approximately $0.75, levels the firm described as indicative of late-stage bear market conditions. According to source, the combination of whale accumulation and prices trading near realised values aligns with the closing phase of a bear market. The firm indicated that additional downside may still be possible prior to the confirmation of a market bottom.