Accumulation / Distribution
Accumulation = big money buying quietly. Distribution = big sellers in bull.
Accumulation: post-bear phase, price in a sideways range, retail panics, institutions quietly buy for weeks/months (Wyckoff). Signs: rising 100+ BTC wallets, falling volume, base building. Distribution = opposite at bull top: whales sell to retail in euphoria.
In plain words
At the end of a bear, the smart money quietly buys even though price doesn't rise. At the end of a bull, the same crowd sells to euphoric retail.
Example
BTC Jan-Sept 2023: 19k-30k range, institutional accumulation before the bull to 100k. March-May 2024: LTH distributed 700k BTC near 73k top.
Also known as: wyckoff