More than 36,000 BTC left exchanges this month as miners shifted holdings to cold storage, hinting at bullish expectations ahead.
Bitcoin miners have moved more than 36,000 BTC from exchanges since the beginning of February.
The volume stands out when measured against earlier months and points to a change in how they are managing their holdings.
A CryptoQuant report indicates that roughly 36,000 BTC were transferred from trading platforms within a short period this month. Out of that total, more than 12,000 BTC was withdrawn from Binance, while the remaining 24,000 BTC was distributed across several other exchanges. This shows that the activity occurred broadly across the market, instead of being linked to a single exchange or one isolated transaction.
This type of activity is generally associated with long-term storage because miners typically move BTC to cold wallets instead of leaving their holdings on exchanges. Such transfers can also mean confidence in future price growth, as lower exchange balances reduce the amount of BTC readily available for sale on the spot market.
CryptoQuant also noted that daily withdrawals accelerated during the period. On one day alone, more than 6,000 BTC was moved off exchanges, marking the highest single-day total since last November. Compared to January, February’s withdrawal levels are much higher, contributing to the view that miners are actively repositioning.
At the same time, miners are not the only group showing sustained faith in the OG cryptocurrency’s upside. Data shows that long-term holders accumulated 380,104 BTC over the past 30 days, indicating continued demand from that segment of the market.
The opening weeks of February have delivered a blow to BTC, with its price falling near the $60,000 at one point. Data from CoinGecko shows that over the past 24 hours, the cryptocurrency went from slightly over $67,000 to just under $70,000, while posting a decline of more than 28% over the past month.
However, analysts at VanEck describe the 2026 downtrend as an “orderly deleveraging” instead of a sudden collapse. Head of Digital Asset Research Mathew Sigel previously explained that this is because futures open interest has dropped by about 20%, suggesting leveraged positions are being reduced in a controlled manner rather than through panic-driven liquidations.
February’s performance has also been shaped by institutional outflows, macroeconomic pressure, and tax-related factors. Spot Bitcoin ETF outflows are now exceeding inflows, suggesting profit-taking or a shift to defensive assets like gold. The Federal Reserve has also maintained rates near 3.75% amid 2.4% inflation, while the newly introduced Internal Revenue Service 1099-DA form adds compliance pressure for investors.
