MarketsBitcoin
|2 min ReadBitcoin stalls near $116K as whale resumes selling
Maya Chen
Senior Analyst
Published
Jan 16, 2026
A whale moves. Pressure or opportunity.
Miss this and you chase later. A deep-pocket holder is active again while price stalls. That is a signal.
Two Bitcoin wallets tied to an eight-year holder sent 1,176 BTC, worth over 136 million, to Hyperliquid on Sunday and “started dumping,” according to Lookonchain. The same entity took a two-week break after swapping nearly 36,000 BTC for Ether in late August. That trade was worth over 4 billion at the time.
Whale moves can mark where smart money rotates. They can also lean on price if coins hit the open market. Traders watch these transfers for early tells. I do too.
ETH rotation and the ratio
Lookonchain wrote on Sept. 1 that the whale sold 35,991 BTC for Ether. The ETH to BTC ratio has been below 0.05 since July last year. It peaked at 0.14 in mid-2017. It is now 0.0401, up 6 percent over the past month.
If the whale swapped back today, the position would lose nearly 460 BTC. That is about $53 million. Big players can carry heat. They also force action. This is capitalism at full speed.
Bitcoin at $116,000. Flat. Tension builds.
Bitcoin hit $116,000 on Friday. That was the first touch in about three weeks since Aug. 23. It trades flat over 24 hours at $115,500. The range is tight. High at 116,182. Low just under 115,000.
That is a classic line in the sand. One whale is selling. The crowd is watching. If you wait for certainty, you pay for it. I watch levels and flows. I act when momentum flips. Fortune favors the bold.
Disclaimer: This document is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed in this document are not, and should not be taken as, investment advice or recommendations. Recipients should do their own due diligence, taking into account their specific financial circumstances, investment objectives and risk tolerance, which are not considered here, before investing. This document is not an offer, or the solicitation of an offer, to buy or sell any of the assets mentioned.