On-chain data shows that Bitcoin long-term holders have notably increased their supply this year. Here are the exact numbers.
Bitcoin Long-Term Holders Have Grown Throughout 2023
In its latest weekly report, the on-chain analytics firm Glassnode has discussed how the supplies of Bitcoin long-term holders and short-term holders have changed over the year 2023.
These two investor groups make up the two main divisions of the BTC sector. The short-term holders (STHs) are the participants who bought within the last 155 days, while the long-term holders (LTHs) are those who have held longer than that.
Statistically, the longer an investor holds onto their coins, the less likely they become to sell the coins at any point. As such, the STHs are generally considered the weak-minded hands of the market, while the LTHs are the resolute hands.
One way to track the behavior of these cohorts is through the amount of supply that they are holding currently. The below chart shows the trend in the metric for the two groups over the past few years (note that only the supply held by these cohorts off-exchanges is considered here).
The two metrics appear to have trended in opposite directions during the past year | Source: Glassnode's The Week Onchain - Week 51, 2023
As displayed in the above graph, the Bitcoin LTH supply has seen a considerable rise over 2023. The STH supply has shown the opposite trend, as it has registered a large drop during this period.
In total, the LTH supply has gone up by 825,000 BTC since January 1st, taking the metric’s value to about 14.9 million BTC. The STH supply, on the other hand, is down to just 2.3 million BTC, having gone through a decline of 506,000 BTC.
Interestingly, these trends have followed despite the fact that Bitcoin has observed a price growth of almost 160% since the start of the year. It would appear that the LTHs have once again been acting as the diamond hands that they are, averting the allure of profit-taking throughout the year.
Some of the STHs have been selling their coins to take profits, which the LTHs have been buying up. Others who aren’t selling have been maturing into the LTH group, thus causing a similar shift anyway.
Something to keep in mind about the LTH supply is that its going up isn’t a sign of buying taking place in the present, but rather that it happened 155 days ago; the coins have just now aged into the cohort. Selling, on the contrary, is indeed registered immediately.
From the chart, it’s visible that the Bitcoin LTH supply has trended down a bit since the latest upward push in the cryptocurrency has happened, suggesting that even some of these resolute investors have broken down under the FOMO of the profit-taking opportunity that this run is providing.
BTC Price
Bitcoin has been struggling to maintain any momentum recently as it has been a bit up and down. At present, the asset is trading around the $43,000 level.
Looks like BTC hasn't moved much in recent days | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView