I noticed something interesting yesterday from Santiment data — small holders, the so-called shrimp wallets ( wallets under 0.1 BTC ), are actively accumulating. Their share of the total Bitcoin volume has reached its highest point since mid-last year. The price is hovering around $74K, nothing special. But there’s a detail that’s bothering me.

While retail investors buy on every dip, whales and sharks ( those with 10,000-10,000 BTC ) are doing the opposite — since October, they’ve been clearing their positions. This creates a strange situation: when the price recovers, large wallets immediately sell off. It turns out that small players are supporting the bottom, while big ones sell on rebounds. Such dynamics usually lead to sideways movement rather than a serious rally.

Glassnode showed a completely different picture a couple of weeks ago — after the drop to $60K in early February, the accumulation index was at its highest since November. It seemed that medium holders ( 10-100 BTC ) were actively buying in panic. But if you look at the full range of large wallets, the net position remains negative. The simple logic: medium-sized buyers are active, but the biggest ones are selling even more.

That’s the point. Retail investors are already here; they’re doing their part. But for a real rally, whales are needed. They need to stop selling, or better yet — start buying. Until that happens, every rise will be met with sales. Small holders are waiting for the big players to join in. Without them, no shrimp can push the price up for long.