Bitcoin Whales Buy $3.2B in 9 Days as Retail Traders Sell, Santiment Says

Highlights:

• Large BTC holders bought 36,322 coins worth $3.21 billion in mid‑January.
• Retail wallets sold 132 BTC valued at $11.66 million during the same period.
• Social media discussion on Bitcoin surged, drawing comparisons with gold and silver.
  

Bitcoin whales increased their positions in mid‑January while smaller traders reduced exposure. Between January 10 and January 19, wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC accumulated 36,322 coins worth $3.21 billion, according to Santiment.

Retail wallets, defined as those with less than 0.01 BTC, moved in the opposite direction. They sold 132 BTC valued at $11.66 million during the same period. Analysts described this as a clear divide between institutional buyers and retail sellers. “Bitcoin’s whales & sharks continue to accumulate,” Santiment said in an X post on Tuesday after BTC dropped over 4% in 24 hours.

📊 Bitcoin's price has fallen back down to $89.4K as gold & silver continue to surge. That said, Bitcoin's whales & sharks continue to accumulate.

🐳 Wallets with 10-10K $BTC: Accumulated +36,322 tokens in the past 9 days (+0.27%)
🦐 Wallets with under 0.01 $BTC: Dumped -132… pic.twitter.com/RnVOgVl3j2

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) January 20, 2026

Santiment said a crypto breakout usually happens when smart money keeps buying while retail keeps selling. The firm added that apart from geopolitical issues, this trend still supports a positive long-term direction. Analysts stayed hopeful even with short-term price weakness.

Bitcoin Gains Attention as Whales Buy

Santiment also noted that Bitcoin is seeing one of the highest increases in discussion rates across social media. Analysts observed that conversations compared Bitcoin to metals such as gold and silver, which reached new all‑time highs on Monday amid geopolitical tensions.

🗣️ According to social media metrics, the coins seeing the highest increase in discussion rates include:

📈 Bitcoin $BTC: Extensive discussions about Bitcoin's market capitalization, its comparison to precious metals like gold and silver, and its role as a digital asset.… pic.twitter.com/306vgOgMhQ

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) January 20, 2026

Last week, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju said that “retail has left Bitcoin markets and whales are buying.” His comments matched Santiment’s findings, which highlighted the growing role of larger investors during periods of volatility.

Other indicators showed caution among traders. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index posted a “fear” score of 32 in its Tuesday update, signaling nervous sentiment. The Altcoin Season Index recorded a Bitcoin Score of 29 out of 100, confirming that markets remain heavily focused on BTC rather than alternative assets.

BTC Price Slides as Tariff Fears and Bond Market Shock Shake Markets

Bitcoin’s price has often reacted to tariff discussions since Donald Trump’s inauguration. On Monday, the president spoke about imposing tariffs on eight European countries as part of his push to claim Greenland. The announcement sent Bitcoin down. The decline added to existing pressure in the market.

Over the past 48 hours, more than $1.8 billion was liquidated, with 93% of those positions being longs, according to Coinglass. Bitcoin fell to $87,790 on Coinbase in late Tuesday trading, its lowest level since December 31. Crypto analyst Will Clemente said on X that Bitcoin’s recent price movements make it hard to feel excited.

Being objective, it's tough to be excited about Bitcoin here based on price action pic.twitter.com/6RchKVi3XO

— Will (@WClementeIII) January 20, 2026

Dan Tapiero said the market wipeout came from heavy stress in Japanese bond markets spreading across global assets. He also expected gold to keep rising after reaching a record $4,835 per ounce on Tuesday, with Bitcoin likely to move higher later.

United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shared a similar view. He said markets were falling because the Japanese 10-year bond market recorded a rare six standard deviation move over the past two days. This has “nothing to do with Greenland,” he said. 

SCOTT BESSENT: Markets are going down because Japan's bond market just suffered a six-standard-deviation move in ten-year bonds over the past two days.

This has nothing to do with Greenland; it's all about the Japanese bond blowout.@SecScottBessent pic.twitter.com/sZqGdsHX3g

— Bannon’s WarRoom (@Bannons_WarRoom) January 20, 2026