On-chain data shows that former bitcoin investors have woken up at a faster rate than ever during the current cycle so far.
bitcoin tokens over 10 years old have seen big moves recently
As explained by CryptoQuant's head of research, Julio Moreno, in a x.com/jjcmoreno/status/1794055158348787712″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>mail At x, bitcoin's current cycle has seen more OG investors wake up to the asset than ever before.
The on-chain indicator of interest here is the “10+ Years Old Coin Spend Ratio,” which basically tells us what percentage of coins dormant for 10 years or more saw movement over the last 30 days.
When the value of this metric is high, it means that some former network investors have finally broken their silence over the past month. The movement of coins this old is generally not a common event, so it is worth keeping an eye out for this type of trend when it develops.
Now, here is a chart showing the trend in the 10+ year coin spend rate for bitcoin over the past few years:
<img decoding="async" class="alignnone aligncenter" src="https://technicalterrence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BTC-spending-from-10-years-ago-is-the-highest-ever.jpeg" alt="bitcoin Idle Whales” width=”4000″ height=”2250″/>
The value of the metric appears to have been high recently | Source: x.com/jjcmoreno/status/1794055158348787712/photo/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">CryptoQuant
As can be seen from the chart above, the indicator had seen a huge increase in March. At the peak of this spike, the metric's value reached 3.7%, which is the highest it has seen in the history of the asset so far.
This strong move in dormant coins came as the price of the cryptocurrency had established a new all-time high (ATH). Typically when these ancient coins are moved, it is for sale purposes. In the case of this rally, especially, profit-taking would seem to be the likely motivation, given the breakout of the ATH.
Following this spike, the ratio value recorded a notable drop as the price of bitcoin itself struggled. However, with the latest recovery that the cryptocurrency has seen, the indicator has also recovered.
Currently, the value of the metric stands at 2.5%, which, while lower than the previous record, is still a high level compared to the past. Therefore, it appears that ancient whales have continued to awaken at a significant rate over the past few months.
Who would these investors be moving such old coins? Generally, the movement of idle tokens is associated with market HODLers. However, when coins get so old that they fall into the 10+ year range, the chances increase that HODLing is not the reason they have been dormant.
Rather, it is likely that coins of this type have reached this old age by being “lost”, due to the keys to their wallets being lost or their existence simply being forgotten.
Some of the holders who sold recently could have been the OGs who sat this whole time, but it is quite possible that many of these investors are actually those who recently got hold of the wallets containing these dormant coins.
btc Price
At the time of writing, bitcoin is trading at around $68,500, up more than 2% in the last seven days.
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Looks like the price of the asset has been climbing up over the last couple of weeks | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView
Dall-E Featured Image, CryptoQuant.com, TradingView.com Chart
