Bitcoin's Price Retreat: How Whales and Retail Investors Are Reacting

crypthub

about 4 hours ago

Bitcoin’s Recent Price Trend

Since early October Bitcoin has been in a bearish phase, losing more than half its value from the all‑time high to a multi‑year low of $60,000 on February 6. The rally since then has been modest, leaving the asset still deep in red on a year‑to‑date basis. Santiment examined which investor groups sold and which added positions during the correction.

Investor Position Shifts

Wallets holding 10‑10,000 BTC trimmed about 0.8% of their balances since the October peak, while micro‑investors with 0.1 BTC or less grew theirs by roughly 2.5%. Santiment says this divergence does not signal an imminent price rebound, as large‑cap holders are not supporting a rally. Retail investors remain resilient, now holding the highest share in nearly two years.

ETF Flow Dynamics

Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw over $6 billion flow in during the two weeks before the $126,000 high, then entered a persistent outflow phase. Early November recorded three weeks of withdrawals exceeding $3.5 billion, and a five‑week red streak continued into 2026 with weekly outflows of $1.3‑$1.5 billion. Total net inflows have slipped from $62.77 billion in early October to $54 billion by last Friday, although recent weekly inflows have eased to under $360 million.