Glassnode’s data shows that Bitcoin long-term holder behaviour has changed from accumulation to distribution.
The Bitcoin Long-Term Holders have Deleted Over 222k Coins From Their Stack since May
According to a Glassnode report, BTC-long-term owners have recently been spending upwards of 47k BTC per monthly in the last few days.
The “long-term holders” (or LTH in short) refer to the cohort of Bitcoin investors that have been holding onto their coins since at least 155 days ago, without selling or moving them.
The “LTH net position change” is an indicator that measures the net number of coins that these HODLers have been selling or buying recently.
LTHs accumulate right now if the indicator’s value is positive. The indicator that is less than zero indicates this group distributes at the moment.
Here’s a chart showing the Bitcoin LTH net change in position over the last year.
Source: Glassnode's Market Pulse, 2022-08-05| Source: Glassnode's Market Pulse, 2022-08-05
You can see that Bitcoin’s long-term holders began showing deep distribution behaviour after the May month.
But, three weeks ago the LTH net balance change was reversed as LTH holders began to accumulate. These investors were hoarding at an average rate of 79k BTC each month during the green phase.
But this buying spree didn’t last too long. Shortly thereafter, LTHs shifted to a distribution trend, selling at an average rate of 47k BTC each month. In the past week, the selling has reduced a lot, but the metric’s values still remain red.
All the sales since May have resulted in a drop of around 222k BTC in long-term holders supply (as reported by the report three days ago).
This chart illustrates how Bitcoin supply by LTHs have changed over the years.
According to Glassnode's Market Pulse (2022-08-04), the metrics seem to be losing value in recent months.| Source: Glassnode's Market Pulse, 2022-08-05
LTHs had 13.559 Million BTC at their peak in May. They have seen a decrease in their supply of BTC by 1.6% over the past year.
We will see what the effects of the move towards distribution on crypto. If LTHs continue to sell, the current bullish momentum might not last very long.
BTC price
At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price floats around $24k, up 4% in the last week.
BTC's value has risen in the past day. Source: BTCUSD at TradingView| Source: BTCUSD on TradingView
Featured image by Kanchanara at Unsplash.com. Also charts from TradingView.com. Glassnode.com.