Whales return to spot markets as Bitcoin price approaches $100,000 again

Bitcoin rose above $97,000 on Tuesday after big traders returned to the spot market after weeks of ETF-led selling. This move brought the $100,000 level back into the realm of possibility and signaled a change in who is leading the market.

New data on the chain and derivatives show that this demonstration is not driven by the aging of retail investors. Instead, whales hoard Bitcoin in the spot market, while smaller traders turn to futures to chase the move. This is important because demonstrations led by actual buyers usually last longer.

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Whales buy while individual investors use leverage

The graph of the average volume of futures orders from the Cryptoquant platform showed a clear pattern. As large orders increase, Usually associated with whales and helmets, With Bitcoin it moves from the middle of $80,000 to above $95,000.

At the same time, small businesses in futures markets rose. This means that individual traders entered primarily through leverage and not spot purchases.

This dichotomy is important. At previous market tops, retail investors led the market and whales sold. This time, the whales bought first and the individuals followed.

It suits this style Initial trend phase More than an explosion at the end of the cycle.

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Spot buyers led the recovery from $84,000

Another chart from Cryptoquant showed changes in Bitcoin’s daily percentage changes from strong red highs in November to steady green highs in January.

This change reflects real buying pressure and not short covering pressure. When the price gradually rises with shallow bounces, this usually means that spot demand is absorbing supply.

Bitcoin rose from around $84,400 to over $96,000 according to this model. The selling pressure that dominated in November has subsided.

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Reset ETF has cleared the way

At the beginning of the month US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw losses over $6 billion. This selling came from late buyers entering after the October high and exiting at a loss.

Bitcoin settled near the etf cost point of about $86k. This level played the supporting role. When the recovery slows down, the price stabilizes.

The market was thus cleaned of weak traders and the positioning was repositioned. Then the whales started Rebuild his exposure At the lower levels.

Bitcoin has never left its full bull market

The downward movement from $110k to $85k saw the end The first speculative wave Only, not the end of the bull market.

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This phase caused the liquidation of debt and ETF investors to be forced. it follows Reaccumulation phasewhere strong investors bought while the price was moving sideways.

Enter Bitcoin now Expansion phase Again. Prices are in violation as the new return of capital.

Bitcoin ETFs had Big Day with $760m in flows. They needed it, they started the year really strong, dipped and now it did, YTD above the water. Check out the YTD streams that everyone sees in action (this was like when 10 kids on my 8th grade bball team scored in a game the other night, you like… pic.twitter.com/xeHw6EfBrS

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) January 14, 2026

Bitcoin is currently holding levels above $95,000, a level that has stopped every rally since the beginning of December. This discovery signals a return of control to buyers.

If the whales continue to lead the market on the spot platform and the sale of ETFs remains low, the way opens to … $100 thousand. A push to new highs becomes possible if demand continues to rise.

Data currently indicates that this increase is based on… Real capital, not fragile debt. This gives Bitcoin its strongest footing in months.