bitcoin is a deflationary asset with a fixed supply, unlike ethereum, whose supply increases or decreases annually depending on network usage. There will only be 21 million btc in circulation, and a decent portion, over 4 million, is unrecoverable.
Fewer and fewer holders willing to sell bitcoin
Now, recent data x.com/AxelAdlerJr/status/1842499054535692361″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>sample that fewer and fewer people are willing to part with their btc. According to on-chain data from long- and short-term bitcoin holder supply cycles, less than 10% of holders were eager to sell in October 2024. This percentage is much lower than the 26% around mid in 2021 and 64% in 2013.
Interestingly, this trend shows that long-term holders, those who purchased their coins more than six months ago, and short-term holders, or those who purchased their btc in less than 155 days, are willing to part with their coins. This position comes despite the fact that bitcoin, like any other crypto asset, is volatile and sees strong price gains or drops over time.
To put this position in perspective, bitcoin is down 15% from its March 2024 all-time high. However, it is also up nearly 150% so far this year after rising from around $27,000 in October 2023. In 2022, bitcoin prices plummeted to below $16,000 after skyrocketing to nearly $70,000 in November 2021.
The cyclical nature of bitcoin is not, when looking at hard data, deterring traders who sell every time prices drop, for example. This change in trend over the years shows that more and more holders are positive about the currency's long-term potential and even as a store of value.
Gambling Traders Don't Want to Get Rid of, Institutions Are Getting Loaded
There could be multiple factors behind this trend, but one of the main ones is the commitment of institutions, especially after approving the first bitcoin ETF spot in the United States earlier this year.
According btc-spot” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>Soso ValueSpot bitcoin ETF issuers in the United States manage more than $57 billion in btc. BlackRock controls more than $21.5 billion in user assets, while Grayscale, which is unwinding its GBTC, has seen more than $20 billion in outflows since launching the spin-off product in January.
Meanwhile, Adam Buck, CEO of Blockstream, x.com/adam3us/status/1842474436970020870″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>observe that there are no options – both purchase and sale – that last more than one year. The CEO adds that this is because most options traders are not willing to sell their calls because, if they do, most of them will be bought in an instant.
Featured image from Canva, TradingView chart
