[DigitalToday reporter Yunseo Lee] Bitcoin is seeing continued buying by institutions and individuals, but overlapping sell pressure from long-held whale wallets is preventing a clear upside breakout.

On May 21 (local time), blockchain media outlet Cryptopolitan reported that recent on-chain data showed a significant share of Bitcoin sell pressure coming from a group of long-term whale holders.

On a weekly basis, Bitcoin purchases far exceed new issuance, and institutional inflows are rising. Strategy recently bought an additional 24,869 BTC over the past week. Alphractal analysts estimated, based on fundraising data, that Strategy could buy more than 15,000 BTC.

Net buying by retail investors and institutions also remains positive. Alphractal said retail demand stayed in net inflow and institutional buying continued. It added that whale wallets have entered distribution mode, and there were no signs of fear-driven capitulation selling among either retail investors or whales. That means there is a supply-demand clash, but not a panic market.

Even so, Bitcoin traded around $77,113, and market sentiment overall remained in the fear zone. An analysis said the reason prices have failed to rebound clearly despite strong buying is selling supply from long-term holders.

In the market, spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are seen as a strong source of buying while also serving as exit liquidity for some long-term holders. Whale Alert said many wallets that held Bitcoin for more than 7 years used over-the-counter (OTC) trading rather than selling on exchanges. By contrast, the most active sellers were wallets holding for 3 to 5 years. The share of Bitcoin held by that group fell from 13 percent at the end of 2025 to below 10 percent now.

This trend also aligns with why institutional demand does not translate immediately into higher spot prices. If supply equivalent to 50,000 BTC that institutions absorb in a month is provided through OTC trades, supply-demand imbalances in the exchange spot market could be limited. Alphractal analyzed the current trading structure as showing no capitulation signal, with strategic selling and distribution continuing within a narrow price range.

So far this year, wallets aged 5 years or more have supplied about 38,400 BTC to the market, it said. That shows sell pressure from long-term holders remains even as institutional demand, centered on ETFs, flows in. As a result, the market sees Bitcoin ownership being reallocated between ETFs and long-term whales.

Some signs of slowing selling have also been confirmed. As of May 2026, the Coin Days Destroyed (CDD) indicator pointed to most large movements by old wallets having largely finished, with transactions falling to a low baseline.

But sell pressure has not disappeared completely. Alphractal said if the current structure continues, Bitcoin could move between $78,000 and $82,000. It said old whale wallets tend to take profits at higher prices during short-term rebounds, and their average acquisition cost is generally very low.

The recent trend also aligns with whales’ typical pattern of strategic trading. They accumulate in sideways markets and distribute-sell near local highs. In a recent analysis, CryptoQuant also presented a signal that whales are preparing additional selling. While new buyers prefer centralized exchanges, 8,063 BTC flowed into exchanges on May 18, which was interpreted as a move to prepare distribution selling in the next short-term rebound phase.

Accordingly, the next turning point for the Bitcoin market is expected to depend less on the scale of institutional buying and more on how quickly supply from long-term whale holders subsides. Even if ETF and corporate buying continues, prices are likely to move within a limited range for the time being as long as selling supply from old wallets remains.

We tracked institutional BTC flows every day in May. The numbers are absurd, and the price action makes no sense — until you read the right metric. : Strategy (MSTR) bought 24,869 BTC last week alone, at an average of $80,985. They now hold 843,738 BTC at a… pic.twitter.com/ELppikqhXu