Bitcoin Approaches Fresh Highs Amid Rising Whale Transactions

Bitcoin is showing strong signs of renewed interest from both retail investors and large holders, reminiscent of buying trends seen during the 2024 U.S. election.

Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading near $117,943 as whale wallets—those holding at least 1,000 BTC—continue to increase. According to Glassnode, the number of these whale entities climbed from 1,392 to 1,417 in the past week, marking one of the highest whale counts this year and signaling growing confidence from institutional investors.

Glassnode defines entities by grouping together addresses controlled by the same party, providing a clearer picture of actual holder activity.

In addition to whales, smaller investors—dubbed “shrimps,” who hold less than 1 BTC—are also ramping up their buying, according to the Accumulation Trend Score, an on-chain metric tracking recent buying strength. This simultaneous buying by both large and small holders points to broad-based bullish sentiment.

This score measures accumulation over a 15-day period, with a reading near 1 indicating strong buying interest and values near 0 showing distribution. To focus on genuine investors, exchanges and miners are excluded from this analysis.

Such coordinated accumulation hasn’t been seen since November 2024, when similar buying patterns contributed to Bitcoin surpassing $100,000 following President Trump’s re-election.

With both retail and institutional demand rising, many analysts believe Bitcoin is positioned to challenge—and possibly exceed—its all-time highs in the near future.