Large holders of Bitcoin, Ether and XRP continued adding to positions during the recent market downturn, a pattern CryptoQuant said is often associated with the closing phase of a bear market. In its weekly report, "Buying the Bear: A Signal of the Bear Market’s Final Stage," the firm said major Bitcoin wallets excluding exchanges and miners increased their combined balance to about 3.06 million BTC this year, with purchases accelerating after Bitcoin fell below $60,000 in June. On Ethereum, wallets holding between 10,000 and 100,000 ETH climbed to a record 19.6 million ETH, while addresses with more than 100,000 ETH added about 1.8 million ETH since mid-2025, lifting their holdings by roughly 70%. That stood in contrast to smaller Ethereum holders, whose balances outside the largest wallet groups fell by about 2.7 million ETH since January. CryptoQuant said a similar large-holder accumulation pattern was visible in XRP despite fears and liquidations. The firm tied that behavior to realized price (average holder cost basis) levels: Bitcoin traded around $65,000 versus a realized price of roughly $52,900, Ether near $1,920 against about $2,450, and XRP near $1.04 compared with approximately $0.75. CryptoQuant said the mix of whale buying and prices near realized values fits late-stage bear market conditions, though it added that more downside may still come before a market bottom is confirmed.