Emily Walker
Recent on-chain data indicates that long-term Bitcoin holders have been involved in significant selloffs, which could be detrimental to the price of BTC.
Recent Activity Among Bitcoin’s Long-Term Holders
On-chain expert Checkmate recently highlighted on X that long-term holders (LTHs) of Bitcoin have participated in substantial profit-taking during the current cycle.
Long-term holders are defined as those who have maintained their Bitcoin investments for over 155 days. This group represents one half of the market divided by holding duration, the other being short-term holders (STHs).
Typically, the longer investors retain their assets, the less likely they are to sell. Consequently, LTHs are often seen as the market’s stable participants, while STHs represent those more likely to sell quickly.
Although LTHs tend to hold onto their investments, the recent price surge has provided a compelling reason for them to take profits.
There are various methods to analyze this group’s behavior, one of which involves monitoring their spending activity. Below is the chart from the analyst displaying the trends in both the 30-day and cumulative spending of Bitcoin since November 2022.
The chart illustrates a recent surge in the 30-day spent supply among Bitcoin’s LTHs. In total, this group has disposed of approximately $60 billion worth of Bitcoin in the last month.
Historically, when LTHs start selling, it’s typically indicative of market movement towards a selloff, suggesting that this recent activity aligns with such behavior.
Furthermore, with the spike in the spent supply over 30 days, the cumulative spent supply has also increased significantly. This cumulative value reflects the total distribution activity of LTHs since November 2022.
Checkmate selected November 2022 as the reference point since it marked the bottom of Bitcoin’s previous bear market following the FTX crash, initiating the current cycle.
Currently, cumulative distribution is at $273 billion, indicating that selloffs from the past month account for roughly 21% of the total supply moved since this cycle began.
The chart also shows that these long-term holders were involved in a major selloff earlier in the year, which likely contributed to Bitcoin’s recent consolidation phase.
It will be interesting to see if this latest wave of selling has similar effects on Bitcoin’s price, or if the current demand is strong enough to counterbalance it.
Bitcoin Price Update
As of now, Bitcoin is priced at approximately $95,500, reflecting an increase of over 8% for the week.