Bitcoin: How long-term holders could pull down BTC’s price

• There has been an uptick in exchange inflow volume from BTC long-term holders.
• This suggests that these investors are now taking profit. 

Leading coin Bitcoin [BTC] may witness a short-term price correction as on-chain data suggests a movement of coins from long-term holders (LTHs) to short-term holders (STHs).

In a new report, CryptoQuant analyst Yosei Dent assessed the coin’s exchange activity and found that when it crossed the $51,000 price mark on the 14th of February, there was an uptick in the amount of long-held BTCs that were transferred to exchanges. 

LTHs pause to take profit

According to Dent:

“As soon as BTC breached the $51k mark on the 14th,  5,153 BTC from the 6m-12m age band were inflowed into exchanges.”

Dent added that the BTC holders in this investor cohort acquired their coins during the 2023 bull market run, which started in October and caused the coin’s value to close the trading year at a multi-month high of $42,000.

In addition, on the same day, the exchange inflow volume of coin holders who have had their BTCs for three to five years briefly climbed to 2,123 BTC. 

Source: CryptoQuant

According to Dent, most of these investors bought their coins during the bull run from 2019 to 2021. Therefore, the recent spike in exchange inflow volume from them suggested they took profit. 

“Considering that the BTC price was at $48k on February 14, 2021, it seems that a portion of the 3y-5y cohort investors may have exited the market at their break-even point,” Dent said.

When BTC sees an increase in exchange inflow from these investor cohorts, it suggests that coins are moving from the hands of LTHs to STHs.

The movement is often accompanied by price pull-back. This is because STHs are often “weak hands,” which have their coins ready for sale at any hint of negative sentiment. 

However, Dent noted:

“However, compared to the LTH Exchange Inflow in previous cycles, this scale is relatively small.”

Many BTC holders are “above water”

At press time, BTC exchanged hands at $51,245, according to CoinMarketCap. In the last month alone, its value has risen by almost 30%.

Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price Prediction 2024-2025

Of all addresses holding BTC, 92.23% are deemed to be “in the money.” This means they currently hold the leading asset at a profit. 

On the other hand, 5%, which is made up of 2 million addresses currently holding their BTCs at a loss. These holders acquired their coins when BTC traded between the $52,000 and $67,000 price range. 

Source: IntoTheBlock