Unknown “Whale” Moves $85 Million in Bitcoin for the First Time in 13 Years

Bitcoin ownership patterns changed in the first quarter of 2026, as hedge funds and brokerage firms reduced risk during the market downturn, while banks, governments and private equity firms increased their positions, according to data published in a recent CoinShares report.

The recent sharp sell-off in the cryptocurrency market has forced a significant share of Bitcoin investors to abandon their profit-taking positions. Darkfost, an analyst at the data platform CryptoQuant, shared important data on the ratio of Bitcoin supply to profit-taking positions

Crypto Super Hub co-founder Jake Pahor said investors started aggressively buying Bitcoin after the market recovery, even though they had ignored the asset just months earlier at significantly lower prices.

Institutional Bitcoin purchases accelerated again in April, with corporate reserves acquiring more than 64,000 BTC in a single month. According to the published data, publicly traded companies and institutional reserves added a total of 64,722 BTC in April. The net increase amounted to approximately 57,791 BTC. As a result, April 2026 became one of the largest periods of institutional Bitcoin buying since mid-2025.

Strategy reported no purchases of Bitcoin over the past week, marking the first pause in its weekly accumulation since December 2025. The update, filed via Form 8-K, ends a 13-week streak of continuous buying that had become a closely watched indicator of corporate demand.