Reuters
- Bitcoin's supply in circulation is extremely low as long-term investors are increasingly stashing tokens, Glassnode said.
- By one measure, the amount of held bitcoin in wallets with minimal spending history hit a record of over 15.4 million tokens.
- "LTHs historically wait for the market to break to new price [all-time highs] before ramping up their distribution."
The supply of freely circulating bitcoin has tightened to historic lows, as long-term investors are stashing an all-time high amount of the cryptocurrency, according to data from Glassnode.
By one measure, the amount of held bitcoin in wallets with minimal spending history hit a record of over 15.4 million tokens, the blockchain data platform said. Similar trends can be seen in the net position change of long-term holders, with inflow levels steadily climbing.
An all-time high is also forming in the spread between long-term holder (LTH) and short-term holder (STH) supply, Glassnode said. It's a sign of how tight the market is becoming, demonstrating that short-term buyers are unlikely to find many sellers willing to part with their holdings.
"LTHs historically wait for the market to break to new price [all-time highs] before ramping up their distribution," the report said. "This process can be seen by the large scale decline in their supply during the 2021 bull run, which is matched by an uptick in STH Supply, as well as Exchange inflow volumes."
This resistance to selling comes on expectations that bitcoin will eventually breach earlier price highs. That comes as possible regulatory approval of a spot bitcoin ETF as well as bitcoin's April halving are fueling investor optimism.
These same factors are driving increasingly bullish calls on bitcoin's trajectory, with investing firm Bernstein recently projecting the token to hit $150,000 by mid-2025.
Glassnode suggested that bitcoin's current price levels are of interest, given that most short-term held coins have become profitable since the token breached $30,000. This may fuel a transfer of coins to new investors, especially if the price declines from its current $35,000 level.