Altcoin Whales Hibernate: Bitcoin Dominates as Early Signals Linger

Whale activity in altcoins has been notably sparse in public reports over the past 10 days from February 13 to 23, 2026, with the market's attention largely shifting toward Bitcoin accumulation during a broader recovery phase. While on-chain surges in altcoins were observed earlier in February, these patterns may still be influencing positioning strategies. The lack of prominent spikes from sources like Lookonchain or Whale Alert underscores a quieter period for altcoins, contrasted by ongoing Bitcoin exchange pressures noted on February 23.

Early February data, spanning late January into the month, reveals significant whale accumulations in select altcoins despite market volatility. For Shiba Inu (SHIB), whales added 690 billion tokens, boosting holdings to 666.74 trillion from January 27, amid a modest 3.3% monthly gain. Pendle (PENDLE) saw 3.27 million tokens accumulated by holders with 100 million to 1 billion addresses, valued at around $6.3 million, with bullish RSI divergence. Cardano (ADA) experienced a rapid addition of about 300 million tokens by the largest wallet groups over 48 hours from January 28-29, though it faced a 7% monthly decline. Axie Infinity (AXS) had mid-tier whales (100K-1M holders) adding over 6 million tokens worth $15 million, fueling a remarkable 213% monthly rally.

In a broader context, Santiment's Week 2 February 2026 summary up to around February 13 emphasizes Bitcoin whale buys, such as 18,000 BTC by 10-10k holders, over altcoin activity, alongside low retail conviction and negative MVRV ratios indicating an accumulation phase. With no major altcoin whale alerts in the specified window, experts recommend monitoring Santiment for real-time transaction increases, as these early signals often foreshadow altcoin rallies.