The price of Bitcoin (BTC) remains above $100,000, sparking a new debate among analysts about the true meaning of recent movements of the ancient currency on the network by old “whales.”
On-chain data shows an increase in transfers from addresses that have been inactive for over seven years, leading some to interpret this as a major sell-off by so-called OG Bitcoiners. These are the early investors who accumulated large sums of money in the early days of the Bitcoin protocol.
but, Not all experts agree with that view. For Willy Wu, the metric “long-term headlines” no longer works. He questions the most widespread interpretations of these indicators. As he explains, long-term supply of holders (LTH) indicators are “outdated” and lead to incorrect conclusions.
“The term “long-term holder” is a misnomer. “This is defined as currency that has been stored at one address for more than five months,” Wu said, adding, “Everyone is wary of graphics with misleading names.”
For Wu, what many interpret as a sale by a former investor will actually look like this: “Storage Rotation” Process. That is, moving the coins to a new custodial structure or legal entity such as the Treasury Department.
“The decline in long-term supply reflects storage rotation rather than sales. This phenomenon became even stronger in 2017. In fact, this is a sign of a strong bull market,” the analyst says.
Wu also explains ancient currency movements detected on Glassnode and CryptoQuant charts. May correspond to simple security updateschanges towards the creation of corporate vehicles that use tap root addresses or Bitcoin as collateral.
“Not everything that looks like it is”garbage“That’s right,” he insists. “There are older Bitcoiners who transfer their coins to banks to protect them from physical attacks or offer them as collateral for loans. In many cases, restructuring is done rather than selling,” he emphasizes.
different opinions
From a different perspective, Charles Edwards, founder of Capriol Investments, argues that the data: On-chain they clearly indicate that Some of the largest whales in history are actually for sale.
«OG whale is selling well. “This chart gives a good visual representation of how many super whales are withdrawing their funds from Bitcoin,” he said. This refers to the Glassnode chart below. This shows a noticeable increase in the orange and red lines over the past few months, representing over $100 million and $500 million in moves from the old address, respectively.
Arab Chain analysts detected a sharp increase in indicators. Foreign exchange inflow – age group of consumption amount Binance stock price on November 4th reached its highest level since July. This indicator measures the amount of BTC flowing into exchanges and categorizes them according to the age of the coins being moved.
As seen in the graph below, The increase was primarily due to the 3- to 7-year-old grouprepresenting a large portfolio of seasoned investors. This type of activity is usually a “short-term warning” sign, the report said.
But from the Arab chain they reveal: There is no significant selling pressure in the market. “Despite the fluctuations in the old currency, prices remained close to $106,000, confirming that the market is entering a period of quiet redistribution rather than large-scale selling,” they note.
Daniel Andres Pelaez: “Not every move is a sale”
Daniel Andrés Pelaez, a Venezuelan analyst and investor, shares a vision similar to Wu’s. Emphasizes the need to interpret data in context.
“Even if Bitcoin moves in a long-term direction, it doesn’t mean it will be sold immediately. It could be a relocation, a restructuring, or a transfer to a cold wallet,” he explained to CriptoNoticias.
Pelaez emphasizes that institutional orientation and rotation to more convenient legal structures is becoming increasingly common. Especially for safety and regulatory reasons.
“Bitcoin is not leaving the ecosystem, it’s just changing hands strategically rather than speculatively,” he added.
The analyst also cautioned that recent market stagnation could be explained by other macroeconomic factors, such as Federal Reserve decisions, a strong dollar, and volatility in derivatives markets.
“Sometimes prices don’t go down because someone sells a lot, but that’s because the other party doesn’t have enough buying power,” he points out.
Accumulation of large whales supports prices
Meanwhile, GugaOnChain, a Brazilian analyst at CryptoQuant, asserts that the recent moves reflect a shift from mid-sized investors to the largest entities in the market.
“From October 24th to November 7th, large whales with 10,000 BTC or more increased their holdings by (more than) twofold, while medium whales decreased their holdings. This shows strong capital is absorbing supply,” he elaborated.
According to his analysis, This dynamic explains the resilience of prices above USD 100,000.despite the obvious distribution of former owners.
“The active accumulation of large whales acts as support, limiting the bearish potential and setting the stage for the next bullish phase,” GugaOnChain summarizes.
The CryptoQuant graph below shows that between October 24, 2025 and November 7, 2025, large whales (holders of 10,000 BTC or more) doubled their reserves, accumulating 36,019 BTC. This, at that time, Selling pressure on medium-sized whales has decreased.
This behavior reflects a phase of absorption and redeployment of large investors. He helped keep the Bitcoin price above $100,000.
redistribution rather than surrender
Based on indicators and expert opinion, the emerging consensus is that the Bitcoin market is undergoing a process of structural redistribution rather than a decline.
graphs and data On-chain It shows significant activity from the old address, but the price movement remains stable above USD 100,000. This suggests that the released supply is being absorbed by institutional investors and large accumulators.
In Pelaez’s words, “It may look like a sale, but in many cases it’s just a move to a more regulated space.”
For now, the market remains resilient and the debate continues over whether the “old whales” are selling Or you could simply rearrange custody.
