The unstable consolidation of Bitcoin's price movement worries many market participants. However, some holders of the world's largest crypto asset appear to be increasing their holdings.

In fact, Bitcoin whales, especially those with between 100 and 1000 BTC in their accounts, have significantly increased their holdings.

Bitcoin accumulation

Over the past six weeks, this cohort of whales has accumulated an additional 94.7 thousand BTC, according to the latest data from Santiment. This surge in accumulation comes amid a period of heightened price uncertainty that has forced many traders out of the cryptocurrency market.

While retail and small investors may be spooked by the volatility, these key stakeholders are using the downturn to strengthen their positions, which could signal bullish outlook among those with significant market influence, according to the crypto analytics platform.

After Bitcoin reached its all-time high in March, the market entered a prolonged supply distribution phase involving wallets of different sizes. Ahead of this peak, blockchain analytics platform Glassnode found that long-term holders (LTH) had largely abandoned their holdings.

However, they recently returned to holding, with another 374,000 BTC moving into LTH status over the past three months. This was seen as a sign that investors' preference to hold onto their BTC now outweighs the pressure to spend it despite the uncertainty.

Bitcoin is currently trading around $60,000 after rising 3.7% over the past 24 hours. Experts believe that the major BTC sell-off is potentially over.

“Is the forced sale of Bitcoin behind us?”

In an interview with CNBC on August 19, Matthew Siegel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, highlighted the seasonal patterns that Bitcoin tends to follow after the halving. He noted that with the recent wave of forced selling behind us, BTC is entering a period that typically poses challenges for its price performance.

Historically, Bitcoin has struggled for one to three months following the halving, which occurred in April this cycle. Siegel's observations suggest that while immediate pressure on BTC has eased, the market may still face headwinds as it continues through this traditionally difficult phase.