Long-term bitcoin holders have stepped up their liquidations in recent weeks, adding to bearish pressures in the market.
On Friday, these so-called patient holders offloaded 97,000 BTC (nearly $3 billion), marking the largest single-day long-term holder sell-off of the year, which accounts for the bulk of the recent increase in spending activity, according to blockchain analytics firm Glassnode.
The 14-day moving average of coins spent by long-term holders has jumped to nearly 25,000 BTC, the highest since January.
Glassnode defines long-term holders as those with a history of owning coins for over 155 days.
Bitcoin’s price fell by over 3.7% to $108,000 on Friday and continued to decline to $107,400 early Monday. As of the time of writing, the cryptocurrency was trading at $103,330, still down 16% from its record high of $124,429, according to CoinDesk data.
Note that the profit-taking operation is still notably slower than the spikes observed in late 2024.
What’s driving the profit-taking?
Long-term holders, including wallets that have been dormant for years, have been consistently selling since bitcoin broke above $100,000 early this year. One explanation for this profit-taking can be rooted in investor psychology.
Think of it this way: how many assets in the world trade at $100K per piece? Perhaps very few that you can quickly count on your fingers. Therefore, it is logical for investors to feel that $ 100,000 per BTC is too expensive, prompting them to take profits.
It also means that the market will likely take time to adjust to $100K as the new normal for BTC. We could continue to see broad range trading around the six-figure price mark for some time, allowing investors to acclimatize to this elevated valuation.