Wallet Waves (BTC)
BTC supply decomposed across 6 wallet-size cohorts from shrimp under 1 BTC to humpback 10000 BTC and above.
What is it?
Wallet Waves decomposes total BTC supply across six wallet-size cohorts: shrimp (under 1 BTC), crab (1 to 10), fish (10 to 100), octopus (100 to 1000), whale (1000 to 10000), and humpback (10000 and above). Each cohort is derived by subtracting the cumulative over-threshold supply series. The six cohorts sum to the full circulating supply. The breakdown provides a direct reading of structural parc distribution.
How to read
The stacked bands read bottom-up from smallest to largest holder. The vertical axis is in native BTC. A gradual expansion of the shrimp-crab-fish bands indicates diffuse retail adoption. A consolidation toward octopus-whale-humpback reveals institutional concentration. Transitions across cycles carry more information than absolute point-in-time values.
Key zones
Historically, retail expansion phases align with late-cycle euphoria. Retail contraction paired with whale expansion accompanies capitulation followed by deep-value accumulation. There is no absolute threshold: the reading is always relative to the current cycle phase and prior inflections.
What to observe
Watch for divergences between cohort movements: when shrimps and crabs distribute while whales and humpbacks accumulate, the structural accumulation indicator is strong. Conversely, supply transfer from whales toward retail cohorts late in a bull run is a classic distribution-top indicator.
Historical context
Structural growth of shrimp and crab cohorts since the March 2020 capitulation illustrates post-COVID retail diffusion. Conversely, whale and humpback cohort growth following the November 2022 FTX collapse marked an institutional accumulation phase. The humpback cohort peak during the 2020-2021 bull run followed by redistribution toward intermediate cohorts in subsequent cycles sketches the standard rotation cycle.
Expert notes
Cohort boundaries (shrimp <1 BTC, crab 1-10, ...) are conventional in on-chain literature. A wallet is not an entity: an entity may operate many wallets. This metric reports addresses, not people. Entity clustering (grouping addresses of the same actor) is outside the scope of this raw representation.
Common mistakes to avoid
Do not confuse wallet-waves with a rich-and-poor metric: a centralized exchange aggregates millions of users' holdings in a few large hot wallets, artificially inflating the whale-humpback cohorts. Cohort changes include intra-wallet transfers from the same holder (e.g. moves to cold storage) that do not represent real economic flows.
Programmatic access
REST API
curl -sS \
'https://api.trinityinsights.io/api/v1/onchain/wallet-waves-btc/history?days=90' \
-H 'X-API-Key: $TRINITY_API_KEY'MCP server
{
"tool": "get_chart_value",
"metric_id": "wallet-waves-btc",
"timeframe": "1y"
}Required tier: free. See the pricing grid for the tier list and the MCP documentation for multi-client configuration.
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Institutional disclaimer
Trinity Insights is an educational and analytical tool. The metric above does not constitute investment advice. Trinity Insights is not a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) registered under MiCA Regulation (EU) 2023/1114. See the full disclaimer.