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Over 1 million bitcoin has been sold since September by long-term holders.
Jan 22, 2025, 10:57 a.m. UTC
Long-term holders of bitcoin (BTC) seem to ended their selling spree, a change in strategy that's helped convert the psychological $100,000 resistance price into a support level for the first time.
With one, short-lived exception, the largest cryptocurrency has held above $100,000 since Jan. 17. The past few days have been extremely volatile due to President Donald Trump's inauguration, which saw a spike in volatility.
Long-term holders, or investors who have held bitcoin for over 155 days, have been among the biggest contributors to selling pressure on the market, according to CoinDesk research in December. They are deemed "smart money" because they tend to buy when bitcoin prices are depressed and sell into strength, a pattern that's been observed over the past four months.
In September, this cohort held 14.2 million BTC. It now holds 13.1 million BTC. While the investors held back around the start of the year, sales have picked up again in recent days as the price rose, though at a reduced pace.
The trend to watch out for is when they stop selling. This tends to mark a top in the cycle, which has occurred in 2013, 2017, 2021 and 2024.
James Van Straten
James Van Straten is a Senior Analyst at CoinDesk, specializing in Bitcoin and its interplay with the macroeconomic environment. Previously, James worked as a Research Analyst at Saidler & Co., a Swiss hedge fund, where he developed expertise in on-chain analytics. His work focuses on monitoring flows to analyze Bitcoin's role within the broader financial system. In addition to his professional endeavors, James serves as an advisor to Coinsilium, a UK publicly traded company, where he provides guidance on their Bitcoin treasury strategy. He also holds investments in Bitcoin, MicroStrategy (MSTR), and Semler Scientific (SMLR).
