Whales Didn’t Sell Bitcoin, They Borrowed Against It! 👀
High-net-worth crypto holders appear to have changed their strategy during the 2026 bear market.
Bitcoin’s share of collateral dropped sharply from 57.8% in 2025 to 30.5% in 2026. At the same time, $ZEC surged to 24.2%, becoming one of the biggest collateral assets in the mix.
The shift suggests that instead of simply dumping $BTC into a weaker market, some whales may have been borrowing against their holdings and rotating collateral into other assets, particularly ZEC. XRP remained relatively stable at 26.9%, while XMR, LINK and ADA also gained modestly in collateral share. The bear market may be changing how large holders deploy their Bitcoin from selling pressure toward leverage, borrowing and collateral rotation.
Bitcoin may have lost collateral dominance, but that doesn’t necessarily mean whales are losing conviction.
High-net-worth crypto holders appear to have changed their strategy during the 2026 bear market.
Bitcoin’s share of collateral dropped sharply from 57.8% in 2025 to 30.5% in 2026. At the same time, $ZEC surged to 24.2%, becoming one of the biggest collateral assets in the mix.
The shift suggests that instead of simply dumping $BTC into a weaker market, some whales may have been borrowing against their holdings and rotating collateral into other assets, particularly ZEC. XRP remained relatively stable at 26.9%, while XMR, LINK and ADA also gained modestly in collateral share. The bear market may be changing how large holders deploy their Bitcoin from selling pressure toward leverage, borrowing and collateral rotation.
Bitcoin may have lost collateral dominance, but that doesn’t necessarily mean whales are losing conviction.
