On-chain data reveals significant accumulation of three major altcoins—Aave (AAVE), Cardano (ADA), and Chainlink (LINK)—by large investors during a period of subdued market sentiment and price action. This quiet buying, often seen as a sign of long-term confidence, occurred as retail traders hesitated and overall market uncertainty lingered.
For Aave, whale wallets increased their holdings by over 12% on December 23, adding more than 20,000 tokens worth approximately $3.1 million. Institutional-linked entities also raised their balances by over 13%, adding around 32,700 AAVE valued near $5 million. Combined, whales and institutions absorbed over 53,000 AAVE in a single day, even as exchange supply increased. This activity followed a period of governance drama in late December, where AAVE's price dropped 20% to lows of $143. During this sell-off, the Top 100 Addresses increased their holdings to 12.92 million AAVE, adding roughly 8% of the total supply, and now control 80% of it. Whale wallets holding over $1 million surged from 120k to 200k, a 66% increase.
Cardano saw renewed accumulation from wallets holding between 100 million and 1 billion ADA after December 20. Their total holdings rose from 3.74 billion to 3.84 billion ADA, an addition of about 100 million ADA valued at nearly $36 million. This shift followed a peak in the Spent Coins Age Band metric earlier in December, which indicated heavy distribution. The subsequent decline in this metric suggests reduced selling pressure and renewed long-term positioning by large holders.
Chainlink experienced sustained whale demand, with on-chain data showing large buy orders for seven consecutive days. One notable whale purchased over 360,000 LINK from Binance in late December, worth roughly $4.5 million, bringing the wallet's total holdings to over 800,000 LINK (exceeding $10 million). This pattern of accumulation continued as market volatility cooled.
The overall behavior points to deep-pocketed investors focusing on established networks with strong fundamentals, absorbing selling pressure while prices move sideways. For AAVE, analysts note that a successful reclaim of the 50-day Moving Average at $174 could reinforce a bullish structure and potentially lead to a 30% rally toward $210-$220, provided the $160 support level holds.
