Short-term holders of the leading cryptocurrency have begun to lock in profits, as noted by CryptoQuant contributor IT Tech.

The chart below illustrates the profit and loss dynamics of short-term investors (STH) sending assets to exchanges.

Financial results of STH when depositing funds on exchanges. Source: CryptoQuant.

After a prolonged period of unprofitable trades, there was a sharp increase in profit-taking over the past day, coinciding with a gradual recovery in Bitcoin's price.

At the time of writing, the digital gold is trading around $95,300. Over the past week, the asset has risen by 5.4%, according to CoinGecko.

IT Tech concluded that "late" buyers took advantage of the local bounce and the emerging liquidity to exit their positions.

"Surges in STH profits typically signal the exhaustion of the current momentum rather than the start of a new rally," the expert warned.

Whales Back in the Black

CryptoQuant analysts have observed a trend reversal among large players — the annual net change in "whale" balances (1,000-10,000 BTC) has decreased by 220,000 BTC.

Dynamics of whale balance changes. Source: CryptoQuant.

This decline in activity followed a cyclical peak of accumulation at 400,000 BTC recorded in December 2024, marking the sharpest drop since the beginning of 2023.

However, last week the trend shifted: whales increased their holdings by 46,000 BTC (+21%). This metric returned to positive territory for the first time since November 2025, signaling the end of an active asset distribution period.

The dynamics of "dolphins" (wallets holding 100 to 1,000 BTC, including ETFs) appear weaker. From an October peak of 972,000 BTC, this group’s holdings have fallen to 589,000 BTC. This nearly 38% correction indicates a cooling interest in this segment.

Who Drives the Price?

The accumulation cycles of whales and dolphins are progressing at different paces. In the current market phase, large holders were most active in June 2024, when their annual balance growth reached 260,000 BTC. At that time, dolphin holdings were only 11,000 BTC.

Comparison of whale and dolphin balances. Source: CryptoQuant.

Later, the situation changed: driven by the popularity of ETFs, dolphin assets surged explosively, reaching 970,000 BTC by October 2025. However, a sell-off followed the peak. Due to significant volumes, this group of investors has recently had a key influence on price formation.

Historically, it is the whales that initiate global rallies, analysts believe. Therefore, the current resurgence in purchases from their side should be viewed as an "early fundamental signal" rather than a short-term price growth factor.

Recall that in mid-January, a popular market sentiment indicator indicated "greed" among Bitcoin investors for the first time since October .