Bitcoin Enters Speculative Phase as New Whales Take Control

Bitcoin (BTC) has entered a “speculative phase” in its bull cycle as new whales become increasingly dominant.

This transfer of dominance from long-term holders (LTH) to short-term holders (STH) signals the final phase of expansion in a bull market.

Another key development in the Bitcoin market is the rising institutional adoption. Retail investors have also made substantial profits by buying BTC at the peak of the market cycle.

The New Bitcoin Whale Dominance

According to on-chain analytics provider CryptoQuant, two key indicators suggest that Bitcoin has entered the later stage of its bull cycle.

The first indicator, Realized Cap composition, showed the dominance of STHs, who hold Bitcoin for less than 155 days. These investors now control 44% of Bitcoin’s realized capitalization, the highest level ever recorded.

Notably, realized capitalization measures the total value of coins based on their last transaction price.

The STH dominance indicates long-term holders are selling to realize profits, giving new whales control. This is a trend typical of the final bull market phase.

However, the structure appears different this time. Unlike past cycles, factors such as ETF inflows, growing stablecoin liquidity, and institutional buying are mitigating sell pressure.

This creates a more stable speculative phase, suggesting that the market may avoid the extreme volatility seen in previous cycles.

A key signal to watch is a drop in STH share, which would indicate long-term investors are accumulating again. It signals the start of a new cycle phase.

The second metric that showed Bitcoin has moved to a later stage of a bull market is Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL).

NUPL is currently sitting at +0.52. Historically, NUPL above 0.5 indicates most investors are in profit, fueling speculation. Although this suggests strong confidence, it gives limited room for further price gains without consolidation.

Growth in BTC Corporate Holders

Away from the whale transition, public companies holding BTC on their balance sheet have increased substantially this year.

Bitcoin enthusiast Lucky on X spotlighted the Bitwise Corporate Bitcoin Adoption Q3 2025 report.

As revealed in the report, public companies added 176,762 BTC to their treasuries, marking an almost 40% increase in Q3 2025.

Together, 172 companies now hold about 1.02 million BTC, valued at nearly $117 billion. This represents roughly 4.87% of the 21 million total Bitcoin supply.

In Q3, 48 new companies bought BTC, increasing the count of public companies holding BTC by 38.7% quarter-over-quarter.

The 172 companies include both established players like Strategy and newcomers like payments firm Strive via its merger with Semler Scientific.

Strategy led by Michael Saylor added 40,000 BTC in Q3, while Bullish went public with 24,000 BTC. Tokyo-based Metaplanet also increased the size of its BTC holdings by two times.

Is it Too Late to Buy BTC?

Meanwhile, Bitcoin has shown long-term profitability, even if purchased at the peak of previous market cycles. This suggests optimism about its future value.

BTC news platform Trending Bitcoin highlighted that investors who bought 1 BTC during previous market peaks have turned $90,000 into $470,000.

Investing in cryptocurrency tops still yields returns over time due to Bitcoin’s long-term upward trend, driven by its limited supply and increasing demand.

The platform encourages investors to continue buying BTC. However, it overlooks risks such as potential corrections during the speculative phase.

Still, historical performance supports the idea that holding through cycles can be profitable, even from high entry points. Corporate adoption and institutional interest reinforce this.

As of this writing, BTC is valued at $112,146, demonstrating 0.58% increase over the past 24 hours.