Bitcoin Whales Accumulate 56,000 BTC as Analysts Eye New All-Time Highs in 2026

Growing Optimism for Bitcoin Price Recovery

Bitcoin appears poised for significant upward movement in 2026, according to multiple prominent market analysts who point to strengthening fundamentals and increasing institutional support for the cryptocurrency.

Bill Miller IV, chief investment officer at Miller Value Partners, told CNBC that technical indicators are aligning favorably for Bitcoin. "Technicals are really starting to line up and it looks like it's ready to go again. I personally expect it to break out to a higher high than its all-time high from the fall," he stated ^[1].

Miller IV cited positive regulatory developments, including comments from US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins about capital markets moving onchain, and continued infrastructure building by major financial institutions like JPMorgan. "It's a whole new ballgame," he added, noting that Bitcoin has established "a higher base than it did in the spring of '25" ^[1].

Fundstrat Capital chief investment officer Tom Lee echoed this optimism in a separate CNBC interview, identifying several favorable conditions. "We kind of reset leverage on October 10th with that big shock, right? And now I think there is still institutional adoption taking place, Wall Street is still building a lot of products on the blockchain, and then we have US government support," Lee explained ^[1].

Whale Accumulation Signals Market Strength

Behind the scenes, large Bitcoin holders have been steadily increasing their positions, a development that on-chain analytics platform Santiment characterizes as bullish for future price action ^[2].

Since mid-December, whales and sharks—defined as addresses holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC—have accumulated an additional 56,227 BTC. Santiment noted that "this marked crypto's local bottom" and that "the bullish divergence from their accumulation was bound to produce at least a minor breakout" ^[2].

The platform emphasized that crypto markets "typically follow the path of key whale and shark stakeholders, and move in the opposite direction of small retail wallets" ^[2]. Recent data shows retail traders with wallets holding less than 0.01 BTC have been taking profits, expecting a "bull trap/fool's rally," which Santiment views as an additional positive signal ^[2].

Analyst James Check observed that Bitcoin is experiencing "massive supply redistribution happening under the hood," with top-heavy supply rebalancing from 67% to 47%, while profit-taking has "dropped off a cliff" ^[2].

Current Trading Position and Outlook

Bitcoin is currently trading at $93,750, representing a 25.6% decline from its $126,080 all-time high recorded on October 6, though it has gained 7.1% so far in 2026 ^[1]. The cryptocurrency recently reached a seven-week high of $94,800 on Coinbase during late Monday trading ^[2].

Andri Fauzan Adziima, research lead at the Bitrue crypto exchange, characterized the current market conditions as a "bullish consolidation phase," with key resistance levels at $95,000 to $100,000 and significant call option interest around the $100,000 strike price for January expiry. Support levels sit at $88,000 to $90,000, with a break below potentially triggering deeper corrections ^[2].

Wide Range of Price Predictions

While optimism prevails, analysts offer varied predictions for Bitcoin's 2026 trajectory. Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at crypto venture capital firm Dragonfly, predicted Bitcoin would exceed $150,000 by year-end, though he expects Bitcoin dominance to decline ^[1].

Crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital took a more cautious approach, describing 2026 as "too chaotic" to estimate precisely and suggesting Bitcoin could range anywhere between $50,000 and $250,000 by year's end ^[1].