Crypto Whales Load Up on Altcoins: Accumulation Signals 2026 Bull Run Ahead

Altcoin whales targeted low-cap jewels and real-world asset (RWA) coins while making leveraged bets on giants like Solana and Ethereum in the last week of December 2025 by focusing on strong accumulation amid market crashes. Buying by major holders during corrections highlights faith in the DeFi, infrastructure, and RWA segments for possible 2026 rallies.

A major $11 billion Bitcoin whale sold $330 million in ETH but quickly opened $748 million in leveraged longs—$598 million on ETH (entry ~$3,147), $87 million on BTC, and $63 million on SOL—signaling a bullish pivot despite spot offloads. Broader whale activity saw increased spot ETH purchases; wallets bought 7.43 million coins at 1.6x the rate of the preceding week.

Low-cap tokens drew a lot of interest: Avantis (AVNT) whales acquired 11 million tokens in December (top 100 holdings up 1.88%, exchange reserves down 4.9%); Succinct (PROVE) experienced 5.34% whale gains amid steadying prices; and Plume Network (PLUME), an RWA-focused L2, attracted almost 7 billion tokens and triggered a 35% rebound. Whales on Solana increased acquisitions during 30%+ declines, therefore supporting accumulation over distribution with no significant year-end sell-offs stated.