The cryptocurrency markets faced considerable challenges last week, with significant declines across major assets. Bitcoin, in particular, experienced a steep drop from approximately $87,000 to under $81,000, marking its lowest value in over two weeks.

Additionally, other prominent altcoins, including XRP and Ethereum (ETH), were affected, with XRP showing a sharp double-digit decline over the past week. This downturn raises important questions about the movements of major market players, commonly known as ‘whales,’ and the future outlook for these digital assets.

Several factors contributed to Bitcoin’s downturn, including notable ETF outflows, fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) driven by large transfers from the U.S. government, broader macroeconomic news, and profit-taking behavior among investors. Despite these adverse conditions, analysis by prominent cryptocurrency analyst Ali Martinez reveals a significant accumulation trend among whales during this period.

Martinez indicated in a recent video on X that these large-scale investors purchased over $1.2 billion worth of Bitcoin within a 72-hour span. Moreover, the popular TD Sequential indicator produced a buy signal on the four-hour chart following a 7% drop, suggesting a potential rebound may be on the horizon.

2/5 The TD Sequential is flashing a buy signal on Bitcoin’s four-hour chart.
It comes after $BTC fell 5.55%, from $86,976 on October 5 to $82,150 today.
The signal suggests this pullback may be nearing an end, with a rebound now worth watching.

— Ali Charts (@alicharts) October 8, 2026

Ethereum also faced considerable pressure, dropping from over $2,700 to a low of around $2,400 before finding some support. Although it managed to recover to approximately $2,500, it remains substantially down for the week.

According to Martinez, whales in the Ethereum market demonstrated a proactive approach, increasing their holdings by 0.64%, amounting to around 166,000 tokens acquired during the price correction. Subsequently, the TD Sequential indicator also flashed a buy signal for ETH, indicating potential recovery targets in the range of $2,620 to $2,650.

XRP has experienced a double-digit weekly decline, although it has seen a recovery from a local low of $1.34. The rejection at $1.51, followed by a retracement, provided whales with an opportunity to accumulate assets significantly. During the downturn, these investors acquired over 45 million XRP tokens—valued at around $63 million.

Martinez noted that XRP’s four-hour chart also registered a new buy signal via the TD Sequential, following an earlier sell signal that coincided with XRP’s recent local high. This signal now raises questions regarding whether it marks a local low for the token.

“An earlier sell signal aligned closely with XRP’s local high. Now, the question is whether this buy signal marks a local low,” added Martinez.