Major Bitcoin holders have practically stopped buying Bitcoin while others have witnessed subdued activity, a new report by on-chain crypto analytics firm CryptoQuant shows. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is currently trading just below $74k as bulls try to avoid a drop to the $70k support level.
CryptoQuant tweeted:
The CryptoQuant post shows weakening structural demand for Bitcoin as the asset continues to struggle in deep bearish territory. Two sets of wallets continue to perform poorly, which generally help determine the long-term trend for the digital currency. Dolphin wallets (holding 100–1,000 BTC) have experienced lower highs since September 2025, while whale balances (typically 1,000–10,000 BTC, excluding exchanges and miners) have remained essentially flat since February 2026, showing no serious accumulation sentiment.
Current Position Reminiscent of 2022
This pattern among whales and dolphins, both of which are extremely important players in the Bitcoin ecosystem, is eerily similar to those witnessed in previous cycles, especially in 2022, the last bear market. On-chain buying statistics, often studied deeply by professional analysts, often show a bearish or bullish bias prior to a major move, and in this case, the downward forces appear to have the upper hand.
While firms like Saylor’s Strategy continue to aggressively buy Bitcoin in large amounts, the retail buying activity is simply not present, and ETFs also continue to bleed some amounts from time to time. Any major rally is almost always preceded by a sustained on-chain demand from all kinds of buyers, and it is simply not the case here.
 
Another important aspect of Bitcoin’s recent on-chain activity is that Long-Term Holders (LTHs) are at all-time highs, breaking a multi-year downtrend. LTHs are defined as BTC holders who have been holding the crypto for at least 155 days. Such strong LTH activity often results in a major bull market, but there must be strong demand in the form of buying. A bear market like the one the market is in right now can survive on low liquidity for a long time, and this time could be no different. Also, the longer LTHs are forced to hold, the greater the chance they will capitulate in the future and trigger short-term price drops.
The Future
Here is BTC’s recent price action:
The cryptocurrency attempted to recover above the key $80k resistance earlier in May, but that proved too much for the bulls. As a result, Bitcoin fell back, and the bulls are now on the defensive, trying to avoid a retest of the $70k price level.
The weakening demand for Bitcoin amid a major resurgence in other markets shows that investors are simply not interested in the crypto sector right now. A renewed interest following last year’s failings is expected to take some time.
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