Bitcoin Rally Loses Momentum as Price Risks A Fall To $60,000 As Whale Dumps Amid Small Holder Accumulation: Santiment  

Bitcoin is displaying significant changes in market behavior as large customers embrace selling while small token holders renew buying activity, according to metrics released today by market analyst Santiment.   

Today, Bitcoin recorded an 1.1% upside move, making its price currently trade at $67,815, as per data from CoinGecko. The flagship cryptocurrency has also been up 2.5% over the past seven days, an overall indicator of its choppy (consolidative) movements.

Its recent rally attempts have failed as the digital asset is experiencing challenges from robust macroeconomic uncertainty and ongoing, wider market selling pressure. In its on-chain market assessment, the analyst disclosed why BTC currently lacks the momentum or strength required for a sustained upward move.

📊 Looking at the overall landscape of key whale & shark wallets in contrast to small retail wallets, we see a tale of two groups moving in opposite directions:

🐳 Wallets with 10-10K Bitcoin have dumped -0.8% of their holdings since the October, 2025 peak

🦐 Wallets with less… pic.twitter.com/ibgHQnlmFq

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) February 20, 2026

Bitcoin Small Holders Buy 

Today, Santiment released fresh on-chain data indicating significant market activity contrast between whale and shark wallets and small retail wallets. Based on its data shared on the X social platform, the analyst identified that whale and shark wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 Bitcoin (BTC) have dumped 0.8% of their Bitcoin exposure since the asset experienced its peak in October, 2025. On the other hand, the analyst recognized that smaller wallets holding less than 0.1 BTC have been buying more Bitcoin tokens and have increased their balances by 2.5% since the October, 2025 peak.

The market behavior above shows that while big token holders are selling their BTC tokens, new small customers are engaging in increased accumulations, trying to drive the asset’s next phase. This interesting pattern indicates that large Bitcoin investors have been selling part of their BTC balances while small investors have remained enthusiastic and are buying tokens for long-term growth. This development may make it difficult for BTC to drive meaningful price surges without the assistance of big investors.  

In short, the Santiment data shows that BTC correction is fueled by large investors and smart money wallets withdrawing their interest from the market. Retail dip buyers lack the strength to initiate bullish trend reversals. Without institutional investors reenergizing their appetite in the market, Bitcoin could be heading towards a long period of price consolidation.

Bitcoin Forms Bearish Pattern: What This Means

Technical analysis shows that Bitcoin is in a formation of a bearish pennant pattern, which suggests that the asset might witness a potential fall soon to the $60,000 level as institutional enthusiasm continues to remain weak in the digital asset.

The loss of purchasing pressure from whales has pushed the cryptocurrency into a defensive phase. The $60,000-$69,000 range has been associated with a bear market absorption phase as new funds are not systematically entering the market to offset selling pressure.