Bitcoin (BTC), The Sandbox (SAND), Optimism (OP)

For most of February, the crypto market trended sideways, but this week, activity has plunged due to the impact of Donald Trump's war trades.

The cryptocurrency market experienced a downturn this week due to the impact of Donald Trump's war trades, which triggered over $800 million in liquidations in the past 24 hours as traders struggled with the volatility.

Despite the pullback, crypto whales have continued to accumulate some coins, positioning themselves for potential gains in March. Here's a look at these assets.

Bitcoin (BTC)

BTC broke below a key support line this week, which had kept its price within a range since the beginning of February, and fell to multi-month lows. The market's leading coin now trades at $79,610, a price low last recorded in November.

BTC whales have taken advantage of its discounted prices to strengthen their holdings, as reflected by the surge in the coin's large holders' netflow. According to IntotheBlock, the metric has rocketed by 23% over the past seven days.

Large holders are whale addresses that hold more than 0.1% of an asset's circulating supply. Their netflow tracks the difference between the inflows and outflows of an asset held by these major investors.

When it rises like this, it indicates that large holders are accumulating more of the asset, suggesting increased confidence and potential upward price pressure. This trend may also prompt BTC retail traders to increase their buying pressure.

If this continues, it will reduce the coin's supply in circulation and drive up its value in March, possibly back above $95,000.

The Sandbox (SAND)

Metaverse-based token SAND has also seen renewed interest from whales this week as the market anticipates a broader recovery in March. The token trades at $0.29 at press time, noting a 43% decline over the past month.

According to Santiment's data, over the past week, whales holding between 100 million and 1 billion tokens have accumulated 180 million SAND valued above $52 million at current market prices. At press time, this cohort of investors holds 1.93 billion SAND tokens, its highest count since June 2024.

The surge in SAND whale holdings is due to its current undervalued status, as reflected by readings from its market value to realized value (MVRV) ratio. As of this writing, the altcoin's seven-day and 30-day MVRV ratios are -9.72 and -23.11, respectively.

Historically, negative MVRV ratios are a buy signal. They indicate that the asset trades below its historical acquisition cost, presenting a buying opportunity for traders looking to buy the dip.

Hence, if this whale accumulation continues, it could push SAND's price past the $0.35 mark in March.

Optimism (OP)

Layer-2 (L2) token OP is another asset that the whales are strategically acquiring for gains in March. IntotheBlock's data has revealed a 240% surge in its large holders' inflow over the past seven days.

OP's value has dipped 8% during that period, indicating that its whales have increased their inflows despite the price drop.

When large holders increase their inflows, they are transferring significant amounts of an asset into their wallets. This is generally seen as a bullish signal, as it suggests confidence in the asset's future price movement and potential for upward momentum.

If this continues into March, it could drive OP's price to $1.52.