Bitcoin whales bought $16.7 billion of BTC in two weeks even as ETFs bled a record $4 billion

Large bitcoin holders bought more than 270,000 bitcoin BTC$62,011.07 ($16.7 billion) over the past two weeks, stepping in as U.S. institutions pulled money out at a record pace.

U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) shed $4.06 billion in June, their worst month since listing, past the previous record of $3.56 billion set in February 2025.

The outflows pushed the funds into the red for 2026 as a whole for the first time, and these products finally recorded a $221 million inflow on Thursday.

Large wallets, often called whales, went the other way, analysts at crypto exchange Bitfinex shared with CoinDesk in a Friday note. They added more than 270,000 BTC over two weeks while the spot premium, a gauge of how hard U.S. buyers are bidding, stayed negative, meaning the buying was not coming from spot desks.

Institutions selling and large holders accumulating at the same time is the pattern that has shown up near past cycle lows, where long-term holders take coins off sellers before any recovery reaches the price.