Exchange data shows BTC whales moving out of leveraged long positions

Whales are exiting their leveraged long positions on Bitcoin. Data from Bitfinex and Bitstamp show that this move typically precedes bullish breakouts and could signal Bitcoin’s imminent rally.

Whales are closing their leveraged long positions on Bitcoin, a sign that analysts believe calls the bottom and could precede a bullish breakout past Bitcoin’s all-time high. 

According to data derived from crypto exchanges Bitfinex and Bitstamp, the move has historically occurred just before major breakouts, driving BTC to new highs. Data derived from Bitfinex shows that whale long positions have begun to decline after peaking at 73,000 BTC towards the end of last month. 

Analysts believe Bitcoin will rally to $135k soon

⚠️WHALES ARE EXITING BTC LONG POSITIONS!

Large BTC holders are closing leveraged longs, a move that has historically preceded BULLISH breakouts.

If this repeats, analysts see a path toward $135K BTC. pic.twitter.com/XKJF3p1t3H

— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) January 11, 2026

Coin Bureau, a cryptocurrency education platform, wrote on X that analysts expect Bitcoin’s imminent rally to reach $135k. MartyParty, a crypto commentator with over 200k followers on X, wrote that a similar move occurred in 2025, driving Bitcoin from $74k to $112k in 43 days.

The analyst also predicted that a Wyckoff Spring will follow shortly. A Wyckoff Spring is a bullish trading pattern where the price briefly dips below a support level before quickly returning to the trading range. The pattern often signals that an upward move is likely to follow.

The bullish prediction aligns with data from CryptoQuant, which suggests that the Bitcoin-to-stablecoin ratio on the Binance exchange signaled potential rising buying power. The data also referenced a similar occurrence in March 2025, where BTC declined from $109,000 to $74,000 before launching a new rally that ultimately pushed Bitcoin to a fresh all-time high around $126,000.

More analysts and entities have predicted that Bitcoin is on the verge of a rally. A recent report highlighted that Michael Schumacher, Wells Fargo’s Head of Macro Strategy, stated in an interview that the financial markets are experiencing declining volatility. The macro expert added that declining volatility is driving investor confidence towards riskier assets, such as cryptocurrencies.

A more comprehensive report compiled by Cryptopolitan revealed that renewed risk appetite could be making a comeback in the digital asset ecosystem. According to the report, large-cap crypto assets, such as Sui, XRP, and Solana, have performed significantly well, casting a shadow on BTC’s overall performance since the start of the year. Data from CoinMarketCap shows that BTC is up 3.6% since January 1 and is currently trading at $90,596 at the time of this publication.

The report also highlighted that the volume of spot, futures, and derivatives markets indicates that investors are gradually positioning themselves with a risk-on conviction. The aggregate futures open positions in BTC also showed signs of a recovery after the massive deleveraging seen in the last quarter of 2025.

Mercado Bitcoin exchange predicts BTC will double its market cap this year

Mercado Bitcoin, a Brazilian exchange based in São Paulo, predicts BTC will double its market capitalization in 2026. The exchange published a report outlining central projections in the cryptocurrency market.

The Latin American exchange estimates that Bitcoin’s attributes, compared to gold, place the crypto asset at the forefront as a top alternative for institutions and organizations to store value. 

The report highlighted that gold investors face significant hurdles, such as logistics and storage challenges, and emphasized that Bitcoin’s digital, borderless, and self-custodial nature makes it more appealing.

The report also noted that institutional influx in the crypto ecosystem will continue to increase following regulatory reforms in the U.S. that now allow registered companies to explore digital currency investment.

Cryptopolitan recently reported that James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, predicted that BTC will land between $120,000 and $170,000 this year. The report also illuminated Carol Alexander’s prediction that Bitcoin’s price will bounce between $75,000 and $150,000 in 2026, settling “around $110,000.” Alexander is a professor of finance at the University of Sussex.

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