Bitcoin’s been creeping upwards, slow as a snail in traffic, not that whirlwind rocket we’ve seen before.
What’s going on? Is the king coin losing its mojo? Nah, it’s about who’s holding the cards behind the scenes.
According to whiz on-chain analyst Willy Woo, the original whales, the OGs who scooped up Bitcoin when it was dirt cheap, are the real puppet masters slowing down the show.
Why is BTC moving up so slowly this cycle?
BTC supply is concentrated around OG whales who peaked their holdings in 2011 (orange and dark orange).
They bought their BTC at $10 or lower. It takes $110k+ of new capital to absorb each BTC they sell. pic.twitter.com/7CbWXsvX2l
— Willy Woo (@woonomic) August 24, 2025
Early adopters with lots of Bitcoin
Back in 2011, Bitcoin was rocking a mere $10 or less. Early investors loaded up like pros, stacking serious coin.
Fast forward to today, these whales are sitting on unrealized gains, sometimes more than 10,000 times their initial bet.
Now, whenever they sell, the market needs a truckload of fresh money, over $110,000 per BTC, to soak up those sales without tanking the price. That’s like trying to drink from a firehose without spilling a drop.
This giant balancing act is what’s making Bitcoin’s climb feel like wading through molasses.
“This difference in cost basis, combined with how much they own and how fast they’re selling, throws a wrench in the works. Bitcoin’s going through growing pains until these OG whales are fully absorbed.”
The Bitcoin OG who received 100,784 $BTC($642M then, now $11.4B) 7 years ago is frantically dumping $BTC for $ETH.
In the past 5 days, they've deposited ~22,769 $BTC($2.59B) to #Hyperliquid for sale, then bought 472,920 $ETH($2.22B) spot and opened a 135,265 $ETH($577M) long.… pic.twitter.com/uciVTlxR5W
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) August 25, 2025
Translation? The market’s adapting, but it ain’t a smooth ride.
Trading Bitcoin for Ethereum
And here’s a juicy bit, a mega whale who snatched 100,784 BTC about seven years ago, worth roughly $642 million back then, now over $11.4 billion, has been offloading big chunks, swapping Bitcoin for Ethereum.
In just five days, this whale dumped nearly $2.6 billion in BTC sales on Hyperliquid and scooped up about $2.22 billion worth of ETH.
They even opened a long position on Ethereum, signaling a hardcore bet that ETH’s going to moon. This is no-doubt a full-court press strategy.
And experts say Bitcoin’s weekend dives aren’t random bad luck. Liquidity drops on weekends when most traders take a break.
This thin market leaves order books shaky, ripe for manipulation by titans ready to make a move.
CryptoQuant calls this a liquidity trap, a setup where whales stir the waters, triggering stop-loss cascades that scare the retail crowd.
And don’t forget, short-term holders are cashing out profits, adding fuel to the volatility fire.
Fresh capital
So no, Bitcoin’s slow ascent isn’t a sign of collapse. Not even close. But also, it’s in fact a gritty tug-of-war between these whale giants and fresh capital trying to keep the price steady.
The climb is tough, but the market’s just getting used to the scale of these massive hands moving the pieces.
Disclosure:This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
Kriptoworld.com accepts no liability for any errors in the articles or for any financial loss resulting from incorrect information.
Cryptocurrency and Web3 expert, founder of Kriptoworld
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With years of experience covering the blockchain space, András delivers insightful reporting on DeFi, tokenization, altcoins, and crypto regulations shaping the digital economy.
📅 Published: August 27, 2025 • 🕓 Last updated: August 27, 2025
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