According to new insights from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, the biggest Bitcoin holders—known as mega whales—are driving fresh accumulation during the current market rally, signaling a strong resurgence of institutional interest.
What Is the Accumulation Trend Score?
Glassnode’s analysis focuses on the Accumulation Trend Score, a key on-chain metric that evaluates whether investors are accumulating or distributing Bitcoin. This indicator accounts for both wallet balance changes and the size of the wallets, giving more weight to larger investors.
When the score is above 0.5, it signals that accumulation is taking place, with a value closer to 1.0 indicating stronger buying behavior. Conversely, a score below 0.5 suggests selling or neutral activity, with 0 being extreme distribution.
Rather than analyzing the overall market score, Glassnode examined the accumulation patterns by different wallet size cohorts, revealing some surprising dynamics during Bitcoin’s recent rally.
Mega Whales Drive the Accumulation Surge
While the broader Bitcoin market has been in a distribution phase for the past few months, holders with more than 10,000 BTC—referred to as mega whales—have sharply diverged from this trend.
In April, these mega whales began shifting from selling to buying. By mid-April, their Accumulation Trend Score soared to 0.9, indicating near-universal accumulation among this elite group of investors.
Traditional whales (wallets holding between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC) have also pivoted toward accumulation, reaching a score of 0.7, up significantly from earlier in the year. Meanwhile, the sharks (wallets with 100 to 1,000 BTC) are holding steady at 0.5, teetering between accumulation and distribution.
Smaller holders, however, continue to offload BTC, bucking the trend set by their larger counterparts.
A Pattern Echoing December 2024
This accumulation trend is reminiscent of December 2024, when mega whales began distributing ahead of the broader market. Now, they are leading the opposite charge—accumulating ahead of the pack.
Such behavior typically signals strong institutional conviction in Bitcoin’s long-term prospects. If history repeats, the rest of the market may soon follow, potentially pushing BTC into a fresh bull leg.
Bitcoin Price Update
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $92,600, down slightly from its recent high above $94,000. While it faces short-term resistance, the strong buying from mega whales may provide the foundation for another push upward.
As long-term holders with deep pockets show renewed interest, the question remains: will the rest of the market follow their lead?
