Bitcoin Faces a Major Holder Shift as Small Wallets Sell and Large Players Accumulate

• Addresses with balances between 10 and 10,000 $BTC added over 20,000 Bitcoin units while the price fluctuated between $63,000 and $65,000.
• Micro-holder wallets recorded the fastest liquidation rate registered since December 2024.
• Network activity reached a three-month peak with 712,000 active addresses in seven days and 61,800 transactions over $100,000.

During the first week of August, large Bitcoin holders steadily increased their positions, absorbing available supply while the price hovered between $63,000 and $65,000. At the same time, retail investors reduced their holdings at the fastest pace observed in over a year. According to the report by Santiment, this divergence coincides with the uncertainty triggered by a security flaw in Coldcard hardware wallets.

🔗 Live Chart: https://t.co/Otqzjq6H6S

🐳 Updating our previous report, Bitcoin whales & sharks are adding more and more to their wallets at this $63K – $65K level.

🦐 Meanwhile, micro holders are showing their sharpest plummet in holdings since December, 2024.

🕵️ This is… https://t.co/kAS8pneuBI pic.twitter.com/6bpE0cv8xM

— Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) August 6, 2026

The digital asset market is undergoing a reconfiguration in coin distribution. Smaller participants are choosing to offload their funds in a rushed manner.

According to analysts at Santiment, the flaw in the random number generator of the Coldcard firmware sparked concern among network users. This situation prompted thousands of addresses to move their assets or reorganize their wallets as a precautionary measure.

Data presented by CoinMetrics indicates that centralized exchanges logged a temporary increase in stored Bitcoin balances. Data from Santiment suggests that massive transfers to reorganize funds drove on-chain activity metrics to peak levels not seen in several months.

Wallet Restructuring and Regulatory Impact

During the last seven days evaluated by Santiment, weekly active addresses on the network rose to 712,000 units. Over that same timeframe, transactions exceeding $100,000 reached 61,800 operations.

According to the Santiment report, the high volume of large transactions reflects both the preventive redistribution of funds and direct buying by institutional entities. The firm notes that investors holding between 10 and 10,000 $BTC took advantage of the retail pullbacks to accumulate value.

The regulatory environment has also influenced the behavior of smaller-scale wallets. Uncertainty surrounding the passage of the CLARITY Act in the U.S. Senate has prompted caution across the sector.

As Santiment researchers explained, the lack of resolution regarding applicable legislation for digital assets slowed enthusiasm among small traders. Prolonged lateral price consolidation ultimately discouraged retail participants, intensifying sell pressure from small addresses.

Despite the selling pressure from the retail segment, on-chain data suggests a shift in trend probability. Sustained accumulation by large wallets at support zones typically strengthens the overall market structure.

Projections by Santiment suggest that the likelihood of Bitcoin‘s price breaking above the $70,000 mark presents a more viable scenario compared to a drop below the $60,000 support level. Analytics firms expect supply absorption by well-capitalized players to limit the impact of short-term retail selling.

The next milestone to watch in network dynamics will be the start of the U.S. Senate recess, the deadline when progress on the CLARITY regulatory bill and its implications for cryptocurrency markets will be assessed.