Zizcrypto2026-03-15

BTC: Dolphin Holdings Growth Rate Is Declining

The growth rate of Bitcoin holdings among addresses holding 100–1,000 BTC ("dolphins") has declined after a strong expansion phase during 2025. This cohort represents mid-sized whales, participants larger than typical retail investors but generally more active than the largest long-term holders. Historically, dolphin holdings tend to grow during periods of market expansion as momentum strengthens. Similar accumulation phases were observed in previous cycles before the growth rate of holdings began to moderate. After peaking near roughly 900K BTC in annual additions, the 1-year change declined significantly, falling toward approximately 440K BTC before rebounding toward around 550K BTC in recent weeks. While the 1-year change remains positive, indicating that dolphins are still accumulating on a net basis, the slowing growth rate suggests that the pace of accumulation among this cohort has moderated. The recent rebound may indicate that dolphins continue to absorb liquidity during market pullbacks, although overall accumulation momentum remains lower than during the earlier expansion phase. Source: CryptoQuant