Long-Term Bitcoin Holder Selling Falls to 19-Month Low

Dormant Bitcoin movement tracks coins that have remained untouched for extended periods before being transferred again. A related measure, coin days destroyed, assigns greater weight to older holdings. Investors monitor both indicators for signs of profit-taking by long-term holders, because a rise in activity among early adopters can foreshadow heavier market supply and selling pressure, while subdued movement suggests those investors are holding rather than distributing their BTC.

Data shared on July 26, 2026, by Alex Thorn, Galaxy’s head of firmwide research, showed dormant BTC movement fell in the second quarter of 2026 to its lowest level since the third quarter of 2022. Coin days destroyed also declined. Thorn said earlier spikes reflected profit-taking by Bitcoin OGs, echoing behavior seen during the 2017 bull market. The figures indicate selling has slowed after elevated distribution in 2024 and 2025; no dollar amount was disclosed.

Bitcoin price swings are closely tied to investor holding behavior. On-chain analytics platform Glassnode said realized losses among long-term holders who have held Bitcoin for one to two years are often a key indicator for predicting market cycles when the market reverses. A slowdown in selling pressure from this group can help investors assess when the next bear-market bottom may occur.

According to the latest Glassnode data released in July 2026, investors who bought Bitcoin at $107,000 a year earlier are showing early signs that the 2026 bear-market bottom is approaching. Meanwhile, the average cost basis of short-term speculators has reinforced $69,000 as the next key battleground between Bitcoin bulls and bears.

Bitcoin “accumulation addresses” are generally wallets that keep buying and rarely sell, making them a gauge of long-term investor demand. Miners, meanwhile, are a steady source of market supply. CryptoQuant’s on-chain data show stronger accumulation alongside easing miner sales, an important signal for assessing Bitcoin’s supply-demand dynamics in 2024.

As of the week covered by the report, Bitcoin accumulation addresses recorded net inflows of more than 67,000 BTC over seven days, while long-term holder demand rose 48.5%. The wallets had absorbed about 4.37 million BTC in total. CryptoQuant’s Miners’ Position Index (MPI) also fell to its lowest level of 2024, indicating that selling pressure from miners had eased significantly.

Bitcoin’s long-term holders are generally less affected by short-term price swings. Their growing share of holdings indicates that circulating supply is shifting from short-term traders to longer-term investors. On-chain analyst Murphy said such concentration often occurs when market sentiment is pessimistic and selling pressure is gradually being absorbed, potentially signaling that a bear-market bottom is forming rather than warning of a price peak.

Murphy said Bitcoin’s long-term holders had accumulated a record net position as of June 17, locking up about 75% of the network’s circulating supply. Whether a bottom has been established will depend on whether their distributions continue to decline in stages. Only a sustained easing in selling would provide stronger confirmation that market selling pressure is nearing exhaustion.

K33 Research said the rising share of Bitcoin held by long-term investors indicates that supply is gradually shifting to holders who are less likely to sell, reducing potential selling pressure. Historically, a growing long-term holder share combined with much of the supply trading at a loss has typically emerged in the later stages of bear markets, though it does not mean a price bottom has been confirmed.

K33 Research's latest report showed that long-term holders control a record 79% of Bitcoin's supply. About 50% of the circulating supply is at an unrealized loss, also consistent with patterns seen during previous bear-market bottoms. The report did not specify the data cutoff date and warned that the upcoming FOMC interest-rate decision could trigger volatility because of Bitcoin's strong correlation with the S&P 500.

Bitcoin’s 50-week and 100-week moving averages are widely viewed as key indicators of its long-term cycle. Since 2015, a specific signal formed by the two averages has accurately coincided with every major market bottom, making it a common gauge for whether a bear market is nearing its end.

The latest data show that the long-term indicator has yet to flash a bottom signal, suggesting the market may not have definitively bottomed. Meanwhile, the U.S. government recently transferred about $606,000 worth of Bitcoin linked to the 2016 Bitfinex hack to Coinbase Prime, drawing attention to how the assets may ultimately be handled.