Bitcoin's largest wallet holders continued to reduce their balances in the week ending November 9, 2026, even as a narrower group of mid-sized holders stepped in to buy, according to on-chain data from blockchain analytics firm Glassnode. The divergence highlights a split inside the Bitcoin market: some buyers are picking up coins at current prices, while broader capital continues to flow out of the ecosystem.

The Largest Wallets Stay in Distribution Mode

Glassnode tracks wallet-cohort behavior using its Accumulation Trend Score, a seven-day measure that runs from 0, indicating distribution, to 1, indicating accumulation. The metric appears in the firm's weekly “The Week Onchain” publication. In its Week 45, 2026 report, the firm found that wallets holding more than 10,000 BTC scored below 0.5, placing the largest cohort — often described as whales — in the reducing category for the period. Smaller wallets, including those holding under 1 BTC, were also still reducing their balances.

The scale of these addresses gives their behavior market-wide significance. Whales hold enough coins that even modest shifts in their activity can affect exchange supply, and when those addresses move coins onto exchanges, the amount of Bitcoin available to be sold increases. Glassnode's score nonetheless reflects net balance changes across a cohort, and those changes may include custody transfers, exchange deposits, or internal wallet reorganizations rather than outright sales — wallet balance movements alone do not confirm that buying or selling has actually taken place.

Similar large-holder dynamics have appeared before. Earlier data showed that whale wallets absorbed 270,000 BTC as ETFs saw $7 billion in outflows, illustrating how quickly the relationship between the largest holders and institutional flows can shift. Separate analysis found that five entities hold nearly 22% of Bitcoin supply, a concentration that gives top holders significant influence whenever their behavior changes.

Mid-Sized Cohorts Step In as Buyers

While the biggest wallets reduced their holdings, two cohorts in the middle of the size spectrum were net buyers. Wallets holding 100 to 1,000 BTC and those holding 1,000 to 10,000 BTC both scored above 0.5 on the Accumulation Trend Score, placing both groups in accumulation territory for the week to November 9. Glassnode described the activity as “early dip buying from a narrow group.”

Understanding who these holders are helps put the signal in context. At current prices, a wallet with 100 BTC holds roughly $7.4 million worth of Bitcoin, while a wallet with 10,000 BTC holds around $737 million. These are substantial positions, but they sit below the ultra-large custodians and exchange cold wallets that dominate the top tier. Glassnode noted that this same pair of cohorts briefly shifted to buying in late September 2026, although that episode did not last. That precedent frames the main open question around the current signal: whether a narrow group's buying can hold beyond a brief window, something the same weekly score will show as Glassnode refreshes it in coming reports.

Cohorts acting in opposite directions at the same moment is not unusual in Bitcoin markets. Longer-term holders and shorter-term traders often respond to price moves differently, and the accumulation signal from these two mid-sized groups is one on-chain input that does not, by itself, indicate where price will go next. For context on how holder behavior shifts around major price moves, an earlier report tracked how Bitcoin supply tightened as exchange reserves fell, a pattern that has sometimes preceded reduced selling pressure.

Capital Is Still Leaving the Bitcoin Ecosystem

The mid-sized accumulation is unfolding against a backdrop of broader capital withdrawal. According to Bloomingbit, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs — funds that allow investors to gain Bitcoin exposure through traditional brokerage accounts — recorded $1.6 billion in net outflows across 20 trading sessions through November 9. That means investors pulled a net $1.6 billion out of these funds over roughly four weeks of trading. Prior reporting tracked Bitcoin ETFs bleeding 77,000 BTC in a single quarter as retail investors exited, and the latest figures continue that trend.

Stablecoin supply, a proxy for cash sitting on the sidelines ready to be deployed into crypto, shrank by $14.2 billion over the 30 days through November 9, which Glassnode reported as the fastest contraction since June 2022. When stablecoin supply shrinks, it typically means investors are moving cash out of the crypto ecosystem entirely rather than waiting to reinvest.

Glassnode framed the broader market as “running on empty,” with capital leaving through three channels at once: stablecoin withdrawals, ETF redemptions, and reduced buying from U.S.-based participants. The mid-sized whale accumulation is real, but it is operating against that outflow backdrop.

Where the Price Stands and What the Order Book Shows

Bitcoin was trading near $73,766 at the time of reporting, down 8.38% over seven days according to CoinGecko. That level sits below the $75,600 mark that Glassnode identifies as the average cost basis for short-term holders — investors who bought Bitcoin within the last several months. With price below that threshold, approximately 65% of short-term holder supply was underwater as of the report date, Bloomingbit noted.

On the order book side, Glassnode's report found that buy orders had outweighed sell orders every hour within 5% of the spot price since November 5. The largest concentration of bid support sits in the $68,000 to $72,500 range. Overhead, sell orders clustered near $83,600 could limit any recovery attempt. Those levels effectively bracket the short-term holder cost basis of roughly $75,600 — the main bid support sits below it and the heaviest sell orders sit well above it — and a sustained move into the upper cluster would put the roughly 65% of short-term holder supply currently underwater back into profit. Meanwhile, open interest in Bitcoin derivatives markets rebuilt to September 2026 high levels even as price fell roughly 15%, a pattern Glassnode said suggests net short positioning rather than fresh long exposure.

A Market Split in Two

The overall picture from the Glassnode report is a market divided. A specific slice of mid-sized holders is treating current prices as an opportunity, but the broader flow of money — measured through ETF redemptions, stablecoin withdrawals, and large-wallet balance reductions — is still moving out rather than in. Because Bitcoin's supply is concentrated among a small number of large entities, any shift in top-holder behavior can carry significant weight. For now, that shift has not happened.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.