Bitcoin held by long-term holders rally – A sign of growing confidence?

• BTC’s long-term holders control 80% of the coin’s circulating supply.
• The supply held by the coin’s short-term holders continues to plummet.

The percentage of the total Bitcoin [BTC] supply held by its long-term investors has reached an all-time high of 80.34%, pseudonymous CryptoQuant analyst Onchained found in a new report.

Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price Prediction 2023-24

BTC long-term holders are investors who have held their coins for an extended period of time, typically above 12 months. 

According to the analyst, the growth in the BTC’s supply held by long-term holders witnessed in the past “suggests a growing confidence among experienced investors, who are increasingly committed to their Bitcoin holdings.”

Source: CryptoQuant

This has happened despite the recent headwinds faced by the leading coin. As of this writing, BTC traded at $26,789. Languishing in a tight range since April, BTC’s price recently hit a new resistance at $28,500, which it has struggled to rally above in the past few months.

While long-term holders remain resilient in their resolve to hold BTC despite the current price consolidation, short-term holders have adopted a different strategy.

This cohort consists of BTC investors who have held their coins for less than 6 months. Onchained found:

“In stark contrast, the supply held by short-term holders has reached its lowest point, accounting for a mere 19.34% of the circulating supply. This decline reflects a reduction in short-term speculation and a shift toward longer-term investment strategies.”

Source: CryptoQuant

Commenting on the implication of the fact that a greater percentage of BTC’s supply is controlled by those who intend to hold for long, the analyst noted:

“With a majority of the circulating supply now in the hands of long-term investors, it points to a more mature and confident market environment. Experienced, patient investors are accumulating Bitcoin, underlining a belief in its long-term potential.”

How much are 1, 10, or 100 BTC worth today?

Both cohorts remain under water

An assessment of the Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR) for both BTC’s long and short-term investors put them at a loss at press time. This metric measures the profitability of BTC transactions.

Typically, an SOPR value above 1 indicates that investors are selling their coins at a profit. Conversely, when an asset’s SOPR is less than 1, it suggests that investors are distributing their holdings at a loss. Data sourced from CryptoQuant put the SOPR value for BTC’s long and short-term holders at 0.93 and 0.99, respectively, at press time.