Bitcoin (BTC) is finding its footing around $87,000 on Tuesday morning, posting modest gains alongside other major cryptocurrencies. But beneath the surface, there's plenty happening that tells a more interesting story than the 1% price bump suggests.

The past 24 hours saw $380.17 million in liquidations wash through the market, the kind of volatility that keeps crypto traders awake at night. Meanwhile, institutional money is heading in different directions depending on which digital asset you're watching. Bitcoin ETFs recorded $151.08 million in net outflows on Monday, while Ethereum (ETH) ETFs pulled in $96.7 million in net inflows. That divergence is worth noting.

The Thursday Thesis

Here's where the accumulation story gets interesting. Data from Santiment shows wallets holding 100 BTC or more have increased by 0.47%, adding 91 new large holders since November 11. That's the whales showing up. At the same time, smaller wallets, particularly those holding less than 0.1 BTC, continue to shrink. This is retail capitulation in action, and historically, that pattern has preceded stronger long-term price recoveries. When the small holders throw in the towel and the big players start accumulating, something usually shifts.

Analyst Michael van de Poppe notes that Bitcoin has managed a solid bounce, but he's not ready to call it a trend reversal just yet. The sentiment won't shift until BTC clears several overhead resistance zones. His base case? Bitcoin should stabilize at current levels, consolidate through midweek, and attempt a breakout by Wednesday night or Thursday.

Over in Ethereum land, trader Nebraskangooner is throwing cold water on the rally. Ethereum has bounced right into major daily resistance, which makes this a likely zone where sellers re-emerge, even if the broader market tries to push higher.

XRP (XRP) had an impressive run, jumping 17% over the past 72 hours. But crypto analyst Ali Martinez points out that whales used the strength to take profits, unloading more than 180 million XRP into the rally. That's the classic move: retail buys the breakout, whales sell into it.

For Solana (SOL), Martinez is watching $120 as the critical level. If that breaks, he sees a potential slide toward $70.

Here's where things stood Tuesday morning:

Bitcoin: $87,435.34
Ethereum: $2,895.34
Solana: $136.25
XRP: $2.20

Meme Coins Take the Lead

The meme-coin sector outperformed the major cryptocurrencies with a 3.1% single-day gain. Dogecoin (DOGE) continues to show signs that its broader uptrend remains intact, according to trader GalaxyBTC, though he's curious whether this cycle will follow the usual pattern or diverge into something new.

Dogecoin: $0.1488
Shiba Inu (SHIB): $0.00008178

The crypto market is doing what it does best: giving everyone just enough hope to stay engaged while keeping everyone guessing about what comes next. Thursday might be the day things get interesting, or it might just be another chapter in the endless consolidation saga. Either way, the whales are accumulating, and that's usually worth paying attention to.