Large bitcoin holders bought more than 270,000 bitcoins ($16.7 billion) in the past two weeks, intervening as U.S. institutions withdrew money at a record pace.
US spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) lost $4.06 billion in June, their worst month since listing, surpassing the previous record of $3.56 billion set in February 2025.
The outflows pushed the funds into the red for the first time for 2026 as a whole, with these products finally recording an inflow of $221 million on Thursday.
Large wallets, often called whales, went the other way, analysts at crypto exchange Bitfinex shared with CoinDesk in a Friday note. They added more than 270,000 BTC over two weeks, while the spot premium, an indicator of how hard US buyers are bidding, remained negative, meaning the purchases did not come from spot desks.
Institutions selling and large holders accumulating at the same time is the pattern that has shown itself near last cycle lows, where long-term holders withdraw coins from sellers before any recovery catches up with the price.
