If you’ve been around Bitcoin for a while, you’ve probably heard the ocean metaphors.

Tiny holders are called shrimp. Folks with a few coins are crabs. Middle crust is fish. Upper middle crust are called sharks. And the giants holding thousands of coins are the infamous whales and humpbacks.

Shrimp (<1 BTC)

Crabs (1–10 BTC)

Fish (10–100 BTC)

Sharks (100–1,000 BTC)

Whales (1,000–10,000 BTC)

Humpbacks (>10,000 BTC)

Call it silly if you want…

But tracking these “sea creatures” tells the real story of who holds Bitcoin, how that’s evolved, and what it means now.

Empires bend to birthrates. Bitcoin bends to who holds the most keys.

This simple metric can tell us why Bitcoin sometimes explodes upward…

Why other times it crashes overnight…

And why, right now, it’s biased to the upside.

Let’s dive in.

The Whale Era: 2017 and Earlier

In Bitcoin’s early years, whales and humpbacks dominated. Most were early miners or pioneers who scooped up thousands of coins when they were cheap.

In 2016, whales controlled nearly half of all the Bitcoin in existence.

Then, when the 2017 bull run sent prices to $20,000, those whales had life-changing gains. So they sold. That massive distribution from the top-heavy elite to the broader market set the stage for the 2018 crash.

It also marked a turning point: for the first time, smaller investors began to make up a meaningful slice of Bitcoin’s ownership.

Retail Takes Root: 2018–2020

After the 2018 bear market, you might think small holders would have given up.

They didn’t.

Shrimps (those with less than 1 BTC) and crabs (1–10 BTC) quietly kept buying. Month after month, they added coins to their wallets. In fact, since Bitcoin’s beginning, shrimps have only had a handful of months where their total holdings went down.

By 2020, even as whales still controlled a third of supply, the grassroots retail base was growing steadily.

That “stacking sats” culture—buying a little bit regularly and tucking it away—was already reshaping Bitcoin’s ownership.

The Institutional Wave: 2020–2021

The COVID crash in March 2020 was another turning point. Big investors were spooked, but soon after, institutions started piling in.

MicroStrategy began buying tens of thousands of coins. Tesla bought 43,000 BTC. Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust hoovered up more than 600,000.

For the first time in years, whales as a group actually grew their holdings. But this time it wasn’t just a handful of early adopters—it was corporate treasuries and investment products. These coins weren’t sitting on exchanges, ready to sell. They were being locked away in long-term holdings.

Meanwhile, retail kept buying too.

Shrimps and crabs didn’t slow down. They just kept stacking through the mania, even as Bitcoin broke all-time highs.

The Shakeout: 2022

Then came the collapse. Terra, Celsius, Three Arrows Capital, FTX—a year of forced selling and bankruptcies. Whales dumped huge amounts of Bitcoin to cover losses. Exchanges bled coins as customers yanked funds off platforms.

But something remarkable happened: the little guys stepped in.

Shrimps and crabs bought more Bitcoin in late 2022 than ever before.

In a single month after the FTX collapse, shrimps added 92,000 BTC to their wallets. Crabs added 130,000.

It was the largest grassroots accumulation in Bitcoin’s history.

The ETF Wave: 2023–2025

By 2023, the dust had settled. Exchange balances hit seven-year lows as more people self-custodied their coins.

At the same time, whispers of U.S. Bitcoin ETFs turned into real applications.

Throughout 2024, anticipation of ETF approval fueled another rally.

During this time, every cohort EXCEPT the very biggest whales were buying.

Shrimps, crabs, fish, sharks—all net accumulators. Only the humpbacks (the mega-holders with 10,000+ BTC, mostly exchanges and custodians) were distributing.

When ETFs launched in 2025, they didn’t concentrate coins into a few wallets. Custodians spread holdings across hundreds of addresses, often in the shark range (100–1,000 BTC). On-chain, it looked like mid-sized holders were surging. In reality, it was millions of retail investors buying ETF shares—another layer of distribution.

When Bitcoin broke $120,000, whales and humpbacks took some profits, selling into strength. But shrimps and crabs still weren’t selling.

Retail kept absorbing supply.

Sharks: The New Kings of Bitcoin

Sharks have moved into the “middle class majority,” holding about 25% of the supply—more than any other cohort.

Meanwhile, whales and humpbacks make up 35%—down about 20% in less than 5 years.

Think of it like this:

• In 2017, Bitcoin was a whale’s ocean.
• In 2020, whales had a comeback thanks to corporate treasuries.
• In 2022, whales sold and retail soaked it up.
• In 2024–25, the sharks have taken over.

The ocean isn’t top-heavy anymore. It’s filled with schools of 100–1,000 BTC holders. They are numerous, professional, and disciplined. They don’t crash the market with single trades, but collectively they set the tone.

That shift matters.

It means Bitcoin holdings are becoming more distributed over time.

Fish already control one-fifth of Bitcoin. Combine them with sharks, and their share could climb to 60% in the next two years. A complete reversal from 2017's whale dominance.

Fish and sharks tend to favor self-custody and custodians over exchanges. We’re already seeing it: Right now, exchange balances are already at multi-year lows.

That makes Bitcoin harder to break and tighter in supply. With fewer coins sitting on exchanges, even small waves of new demand could send prices ripping higher.

In short…

Bitcoin’s late-2025 story is one of strength and distribution. That alone is bullish.

But wait until you see what’s brewing with Ethereum.