Bitcoin’s sharp selloff last week appears to have triggered one of the biggest bullish buying episodes of this market cycle.
Data tracking accumulator addresses showed a record spike in coins flowing into wallets related to long-term holding behavior, even as flows through exchange-traded fund (ETF) products remained net negative.
Timing was critical. This influx landed on the heels of a wave of intense deleveraging that roiled crypto markets and sent Bitcoin plummeting within days.
Bitcoin plummeted to $60,000, its lowest price under President Donald Trump’s administration and the biggest decline since the FTX collapse in 2022. As of this writing, it has recovered to trade at around $70,000.
At the same moment that forced sellers are forced out of their positions, large buyers have stepped in, at least in some parts of the market. On-chain inflows suggest that coins were not only purchased, but also transferred to the wallets of holders, which tends to keep Bitcoin away from exchanges.
This is a behavior that traders often look for when assessing whether declines are being absorbed by long-term capital.
Still, the evidence is mixed across channels. While the on-chain situation shows accumulation, the ETF wrapper continues to show redemption.
This split became the story of this drawdown. On the one hand, there are signals of large-scale spot buying, and on the other hand, continued outflows from regulated investment products.
Record inflows after liquidation shock
Accumulator addresses tracked by CryptoQuant received 66,940 Bitcoin on February 6th, a move that multiple market watchers described as the largest single-day inflow of the current cycle.
At a price near $70,000, this move would mean approximately $4.7 billion of Bitcoin would move into accumulative wallets.
Accumulator addresses are typically defined by on-chain analysts as wallets that receive Bitcoin, but do not show a pattern consistent with daily spending. When these addresses receive large volumes in a short period of time, traders often interpret it as a sign that supply is being absorbed by entities with longer holding periods.
The February 6 inflow is now being used by some traders as shorthand for “whales bought the bullshit.” In layman’s terms, the argument is that large holders took advantage of the price drop to absorb supply and move their coins into wallets supposedly for long-term storage.
Note that flow alone cannot tell you who is behind it or why the coin is moving. Large transfers to accumulative wallets may reflect custodian realignment, internal wallet management, or entity fragmentation rather than new purchase convictions.
Therefore, even if no new buyers enter the market, a fund moving coins from one custodian wallet to another may appear as an “accumulation” on-chain.
As a result, analysts tend to treat one-day spikes as a starting point rather than a conclusion. A more useful test is whether the increase in inflow persists for more than a day and coincides with other signs of a tight fluid supply.
If the spike disappears quickly, it may still be meaningful, but it may tell a more limited story about post-liquidation repositioning.
Despite those warnings, the scale and timing of February 6’s move is sure to garner attention. This event arrived when traders were already ready to look for bottoming signals following a rapid fall below $60,000.
Strategy to continue buying through drawdown
One of the most visible whales adding exposure to volatility is Strategy, a public company best known for running BTC-heavy financial strategies.
From February 2nd to February 8th, Strategy purchased 1,142 Bitcoins for approximately $90 million at an average price of approximately $78,815 per coin, increasing its total holdings to 714,644 Bitcoins, according to a disclosure by Executive Chairman Michael Saylor.
The acquisition itself is small compared to Strategy’s overall position of 714,644 BTC acquired for $54.35 billion, but it carries weight as it shows the company’s strategy in real time.
The strategy built its identity around converting access to capital markets into spot demand for Bitcoin. When the market is rising, that approach can amplify the bullish narrative. When prices fall, it becomes a stress test of discipline, financing conditions, and investor patience.
There is also a basic point about timing. By purchasing Bitcoin at nearly $79,000 per coin, Strategy avoided a reduction in the average cost basis of its existing holdings.
While the choice may be important internally, it also highlights the gap between what the company paid and subsequent market transactions.
Meanwhile, the move also stands out against broader pressure on crypto-related balance sheets during this cycle.
The Reuters report noted that Strategies recently reported widening losses related to Bitcoin’s decline and the sector’s struggles since the crash last October.
In that context, the company’s buying streak can be interpreted in two ways. One is a sign of belief, and the other is a signal that the company views the drawdown as an opportunity to further strengthen its position, regardless of short-term volatility.
But the market doesn’t need to resolve that debate right away. Importantly in the near term, Strategy’s purchases add a visible recurring source of demand that traders can track through disclosures and public announcements.
Binance SAFU adds second operational bid
Another notable buyer is Binance’s SAFU Fund, a user protection reserve that Binance is rebalancing into Bitcoin.
The cryptocurrency exchange reported that the SAFU Fund address acquired an additional 4,225 Bitcoins on February 9th. This equates to $300 million in stablecoins. The SAFU BTC address currently holds 10,455 Bitcoins.
Purchasing SAFU is different from directional whale trading. This is related to risk management and reserve composition and can behave like price-independent demand over a defined period of time. In times of forced sales, such stable bids can be important, especially when other large demand channels are in decline.
Binance first announced on January 30 that it would transfer $1 billion of its User Protection Fund to Bitcoin, a move seen as a statement of confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term prospects as a leading cryptocurrency.
The company said it would rebalance the fund to up to $1 billion if the fund’s value falls below $800 million due to market fluctuations.
This framework is important because it describes processes rather than one-time transactions. If the reserve is managed at a target value and volatility is moving it away from the target value, rebalancing can create buy or sell pressure independent of daily sentiment.
It also adds a second type of whale behavior to the story. Purchasing strategies are tied to financial strategy and the mechanics of capital markets. SAFU purchases are tied to reserve obligations and risk management.
Both can show up as demand during a downturn, but they stem from different motivations, which can affect durability.
Countermeasure: Global outflows have slowed, but Bitcoin ETFs are still bleeding
On the flow front, CoinShares’ latest weekly report suggests a possible change in pace, even if the direction remains negative.
Despite intense price pressure, outflows into digital asset investment products slowed significantly last week to $187 million, according to CoinShares.
CoinShares argued that changes in outflow rates have historically been more informative than headline numbers in identifying potential inflection points.
The firm also reported that assets under management fell to $129.8 billion, the lowest level since March 2025, and ETP trading volume reached $63.1 billion, a record high for the week.
This combination, declining assets and record volumes, points to a market where investors are still actively trading exposure even as net money moves away from the commodity set.
In it, CoinShares said that despite inflows into certain altcoins, led by XRP, Bitcoin was the main source of negative sentiment, with $264 million outflows over the week.
Bitcoin’s negative sentiment is not surprising given that the US Spot BTC ETF recorded net outflows of over $331 million last week.
This detail is important because it structures the tug of war in a specific way. While some large spot buyers appear to be absorbing supply, the ETF wrapper remains under pressure.
In practical terms, this means that two things can be true at the same time. While coins may move into wallets in conjunction with long-term holding behavior, regulated products serving institutions and traditional investors will continue to experience redemptions.
The market then becomes a battle over whether accumulation through spot channels or sales through financial products is superior.
What to watch next
The market’s next move may depend on whether the current regime moves from “capitulation and relocation” to “stabilization and rerisking” rather than a single whale-buying pattern.
Three traffic lights stand out.
First, will inflows into the accumulator remain elevated after February 6? A one-day spike could indicate post-liquidation relocation. Persistence could indicate more structural tightness in liquid supply, especially if coins continue to move from exchanges to long-term wallets.
Second, will ETF flows continue to decline or are they starting to stabilize? Although CoinShares characterizes the slowdown in outflows as a potential inflection point, the U.S. Spot ETF complex still records weekly net outflows.
This suggests that even though the selling impulse has slowed, traditional investor demand has not yet turned into a sustained buy.
Third, are non-price sensitive buyers keeping pace? The strategy’s repeat purchases and SAFU reserves help establish a baseline bid during times of volatility.
However, whether that support is sustained depends on continued access to capital markets (in the case of strategies) and the period of reserve rebalancing (in the case of SAFU).
For now, Bitcoin remains bound by broad risk sentiment.
Reuters linked the decline in the latest crypto leg to volatility in other markets and a sharp decline in tech stocks, and noted that Bitcoin could continue to trade like a high-beta liquid asset, even as long-term holders have quietly added exposure.
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