In early September 2025, Bitcoin faced a significant block around $83,000, failing to break through key resistance in a short period. Subsequently, the price retraced below $80,000, with the high-pressure technical pattern resonating with on-chain and derivative data. According to Glassnode's accumulated trend score, the indicator is around 0.37, suggesting that after nearly three months of net accumulation since early June, various BTC wallet groups have collectively shifted from "buy and hold" to "sell and distribute," with signals of whales reducing their holdings starting to appear. Meanwhile, data from Coinalyze indicates that the total open interest for altcoin perpetual contracts has exceeded Bitcoin for the first time since December 2024. Currently, BTC's perpetual open interest is approximately $23.9 billion, accounting for only about 37% of the total, indicating that the focus of leveraged exposure is shifting from Bitcoin to the altcoin sector, which includes ETH, Solana, XRP, BNB, and Zcash. Corresponding with the stylistic changes on-chain and in the contract layer, B.TOP mining pool founder Jiang Zhuoer sold all BTC around $82,050 and shorted, later buying back near $79,480 to close the position and fully switch to ETH spot, publicly emphasizing "ETH is the engine of this bull market." This operational path aligns with his judgment that there is critical resistance for BTC around $83,000-$84,000. Overall, this forms multiple signals of Bitcoin encountering resistance at high levels, net selling from on-chain wallets, and leveraging funds in sync with key figures in the mining community leaning towards altcoin assets. However, the fact that "altcoin perpetuals exceed Bitcoin" remains merely a potential indication of style switching rather than a confirmed conclusion for a new round of altcoin market.

Resistance at 83,000: On-chain Whales collectively reduce BTC holdings

According to AiCoin's organized on-chain data, when Bitcoin surged around $83,000, selling pressure significantly increased, and the price later retreated below $80,000, corresponding to a directional reversal in the on-chain holding structure. In the nearly three months since early June 2025, almost all wallet groups had been continuously net accumulating BTC, while after this attempt to breach $83,000 failed, net selling overall emerged on-chain for the first time since early June, with various addresses synchronously entering the distribution phase rather than just a few large holders acting independently.

According to AiCoin's data analysis of Glassnode's accumulated trend score, this indicator is currently about 0.37. The closer the value is to 0, the more it leans towards selling and distributing, reflecting that the "accumulation phase" has been replaced by a selling phase dominated by whales. In terms of holding volume, the selling trend of whale addresses is most apparent as they release chips to the market around the $83,000 price point, forming continuous pressure on the upper prices and signaling a "proactive deleveraging" for medium to long-term bullish positions. This suggests that the resistance around $83,000 is not merely technical but is compounded by the on-chain reality of whales actively reducing their holdings.

Collision of ETF Continuous Buying and Whale Selling Pressure

According to AiCoin's data, wallet groups that had continuously net accumulated various BTC types since early June first shifted to net selling in early September, with whale reductions and long-term position settlements synchronously appearing on-chain. At the same time, public data indicates that Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $730 million in net inflows on September 3, a relatively high historical level, with institutions and allocation funds still increasing BTC exposure through ETFs, forming a force opposite to the net selling direction of on-chain wallets. The passive and allocated buys from the ETF side continually absorb the selling pressure, providing some support for prices around $80,000, making it harder for a significant downward move to be solely driven by market shorts.

This structural collision also reflects a differentiation in risk preferences: ETF buyers are primarily institutions and allocated funds, more inclined to steadily increase their holdings within a systematic allocation framework, while on-chain whales and leveraged trading funds tend to make tactical adjustments around key price levels. B.TOP mining pool founder Jiang Zhuoer sold and shorted BTC around $82,050, then closed the position and switched to full ETH spot at approximately $79,480, publicly stressing that in the context of continuous net inflows into ETFs, shorting BTC can only be a short-term strategy that requires swift entry and exit. Thus, it is evident that the selling pressure from whales at high levels and the continuous buying of ETFs are overlapping to shape the current volatility range for BTC, with both bulls and bears primarily engaging in a range-bound game rather than a one-sided trend confrontation.

Altcoin Perpetuals Surpassing BTC: A Spread of Leveraged Style

While there is a high-level oscillation around BTC in the spot market, the open interest structure of perpetual contracts has exhibited a more noticeable style change. According to Coinalyze data, Bitcoin perpetual contracts have an open interest of about $23.9 billion, accounting for approximately 37% of all perpetual contracts, while the remaining open interest is composed of altcoins like ETH, Solana, XRP, BNB, and Zcash, which has for the first time since December 2024 collectively surpassed BTC. Some participants are using Zcash as a tool to leverage their altcoin exposure, indicating that the risk exposure in leveraged accounts is shifting from a single major coin to a more diversified token combination.

Historically, after the first appearance of "altcoin perpetuals surpassing BTC" in December 2024, the market experienced a notable altcoin rally. This structural repetition will naturally be interpreted as a potential signal for a spreading style. However, current data only indicates that leveraged preferences are starting to extend to the altcoin sector and cannot be directly inferred as "the altcoin season has been confirmed to start," nor can it simply replicate the price path of the previous round. This phenomenon of "altcoin perpetuals surpassing BTC" is more suited as an observational variable for the diffusion of risk preferences from major coins to altcoins rather than a basis for prematurely announcing that a new round of the altcoin market has been confirmed to occur.

Mining Leaders Liquidate BTC to Bet on ETH: Strategies and Altcoin Signals in Sync

Within the range where BTC faced significant pressure around $83,000 for the first time, B.TOP mining pool founder Jiang Zhuoer chose a very aggressive position switch: he sold all BTC and simultaneously shorted around $82,050, then bought back to close the position when the price retraced to around $79,480, immediately switching to full ETH spot. The price difference was under $3,000; however, this represented a directional shift from "fully holding BTC + short-term bearish" to "fully holding ETH spot," directly betting on ETH's relative advantage and not continuing to take on the risk of BTC's high-level volatility.

What is even more noteworthy is that he explicitly positions ETH as "the engine of this bull market rather than a follower," suggesting that ETH often rises first, followed by BTC, while emphasizing that there is key resistance for BTC around $83,000-$84,000. In the context of BTC ETFs still recording about $730 million in net inflows on September 3, he also warned that shorting BTC can only be short-term and quick trades that cannot contend against the long-term trend of allocated funds. This set of "short-term bearish on BTC, phase-wise bullish on ETH" mining strategies resonates with the shift in the leveraged style where total open interest of altcoin perpetuals has again surpassed BTC—on one side, contract funds structurally leaning towards ETH and other altcoins, and on the other, representatives from the mining community actively switching chips from BTC to ETH in the spot market; the two combined create important signals for observing the spread of risk preferences towards the altcoin sector.

Style Switching Yet to Take Shape: Will Altcoin Leverage and ETH Continue?

Considering the current signals, Bitcoin remains oscillating near the previously mentioned resistance around $83,000. According to AiCoin data, there is as yet no effective upward breakthrough or deep downward retracement; on-chain, wallet groups have shifted from net accumulation to net selling for the first time after nearly three months, with Glassnode's accumulated trend score around 0.37, indicating that funds are moving from the buying side towards distribution, yet there still remains room for rebalancing before reaching extreme selling pressure. In terms of contracts, the total open interest for altcoin perpetuals has again surpassed BTC for the first time since December 2024, with BTC perpetual open interest around $23.9 billion making up about 37%, together with Jiang Zhuoer's operation to liquidate and short BTC near $82,050, and later closing near $79,480 while fully committing to ETH and his public judgment that "ETH is the engine of this bull market," all collectively form a potential shifting picture of style. However, AiCoin data shows that on September 3, Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net inflow of approximately $730 million, and allocated funds are still continually increasing BTC exposure; historical experience does not support simply declaring "altcoin perpetuals exceeding BTC" as confirmation that the altcoin season has indeed begun. Therefore, it currently appears more like leveraged funds are testing for a style switch between altcoins and ETH while the spot market and ETFs remain firmly anchored to BTC. Future observations should focus on whether the on-chain accumulation trend can return to the net buying range, the evolution of BTC compared to the altcoin perpetual open interest ratios, and whether representative addresses like Jiang Zhuoer continue to increase their ETH holdings or return to BTC.

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