The cryptocurrency market in the past week has shown an interesting contrast. On one side, precious metals are plunging—silver dropped 8% intraday to $72.72/oz, and gold also fell by over $100. On the other side, large crypto holders are positioning themselves against the trend.

Institutional strength remains firm. BitMine increased its holdings by 44,463 ETH last week, with total holdings surpassing 4.11 million ETH. The two most recent new wallets also made significant moves, adding a total of 2,600 BTC, worth approximately $231 million. BlackRock deposited 2,201 BTC and 7,557 ETH into Coinbase, a scale of activity understandable for them. MicroStrategy increased its BTC holdings by 1,229, with an average price of $88,568. Although Bitdeer’s increase was smaller (1.5 BTC), its total holdings reached 1,998.3 BTC.

Among individual investors, some remain strongly bullish. A well-known investor has responded to multiple ETH purchases, stating that they will continue to buy on dips with a $1 billion scale, practicing the strategy of "buy in bear markets, sell in bull markets." They also added to their ETH position, optimistic about Q1 prospects, planning to keep buying until the bull market arrives.

Ecosystem data supports an optimistic outlook. Solana released its 2025 year-end summary: DEX trading volume exceeded $1.7 trillion, and ETF total assets surpassed $766 million. The Ethereum ecosystem is also active, with the number of contracts deployed in Q4 2025 reaching 8.7 million, a new all-time high.

However, market sentiment is not entirely optimistic. The current crypto fear index has risen to 30, still in a "fear" zone. Some large holders are also facing difficulties—a certain BTC OG whale’s long position is now in a total unrealized loss of $54.5 million. But from historical experience, this often presents the best entry point for long-term investors. Institutions increasing their holdings amid panic may indicate their true judgment of the subsequent market trend.