The silent exodus of bitcoin is weighing on the crypto market as investors believed to taking profit
JAKARTA – Long‑term Bitcoin investors continue to offload their holdings, and the pressure is increasingly felt in the crypto market.
More than two months after hitting a record above US$126,000, Bitcoin’s price has corrected by nearly 30% and is struggling to find a support level. One of the main reasons: persistent selling from long‑term holders.
The latest blockchain data shows coins stored for years are now being released at the fastest pace in recent times, while the market’s ability to absorb this supply has weakened.
A report from K33 Research noted that the number of bitcoins unmoved for at least two years has fallen by 1.6 million since early 2023, equal to around US$140 billion. This indicates sustained selling by long‑term holders.
In 2025 alone, nearly US$300 billion worth of bitcoins that had been “dormant” for more than a year returned to circulation. CryptoQuant reported that the past 30 days marked one of the heaviest long‑term holder distributions in more than five years.
“The market is experiencing a slow decline marked by steady spot selling amid thin buy‑side liquidity, resulting in a gradual downturn that is harder to reverse compared with leverage capitulation,” said Chris Newhouse, Director of Research at Ergonia.
As cited by finance.yahoo.com on Thursday (18/12), for most of last year, that selling was absorbed by surging demand from newly launched crypto ETFs and investment firms.
However, that momentum has faded. ETF flows have turned negative, derivatives volumes have declined, and retail participation has thinned. The same supply is now hitting a weaker market with fewer active buyers.
The pressure was most evident from 10 October, when US$19 billion in liquidations occurred following unexpected comments by US President Donald Trump on punitive tariffs, creating the largest daily leverage washout in crypto history. Since then, market participants have withdrawn from derivatives with no clear signs of recovery.
Bitcoin briefly spiked to US$90,000 on Wednesday due to short position liquidations, but resumed its decline. The leading cryptocurrency fell as much as 2.8% to US$85,278 and was trading just above US$86,000 at 10:00 Singapore time on Thursday.
Unlike previous cycles, this supply reactivation was not driven by altcoin trading or protocol incentives, but by large liquidity from US ETFs and treasury demand.
“This allowed early holders (OGs) to realise profits at six‑digit prices and significantly reduce ownership concentration,” said K33 Senior Analyst Vetle Lunde.
He added that the reactivation volumes this year and last year were the second and third largest in Bitcoin’s history, only behind 2017.
Data from Coinglass shows open interest – the number of outstanding contracts – for Bitcoin options and perpetual futures remains far below levels before the October crash. This indicates many traders are staying on the sidelines.
At the same time, basis trade strategies, which exploit the price gap between spot and futures, are no longer profitable for hedge funds.
Nevertheless, Lunde believes selling by long‑term holders may be nearing its end. Based on historical on‑chain flow patterns, selling pressure appears close to exhaustion. “About 20% of BTC supply has been reactivated in the past two years,” Lunde wrote.
“The expectation is that OG selling will ease in 2026, allowing two‑year supply to rise again as Bitcoin transitions towards net buy demand amid deeper institutional integration.” (DK/LM)
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