Bitcoin Supply Inactive for a Year Slides to 18-Month Low of 65.8%

• The percentage of bitcoin’s circulating supply last active at least a year ago has declined from 70% to 65.8% in three months.

• The decline probably indicates profit-taking by some investors in a rising market.

The percentage of bitcoin’s circulating supply that last moved on-chain at least a year ago has declined to the lowest since October 2022, according to data tracked by blockchain analytics firm Glassnode.

On Monday, 12.95 million BTC, equating to 65.84% of the circulating supply of 19.67 million BTC, remained unchanged for over a year, the lowest percentage since October 2022. The metric peaked above 70% with the debut of nearly a dozen spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. in mid-January and has been falling ever since.

Since late December, the percentage of the circulating supply that has not moved in at least two years has declined to 54.% from 57.4%.

The decline likely represents profit-taking by investors who held coins for one year and over and marks a shift from the holding strategy seen through 2023.

The urge to sell likely stems from bitcoin’s massive 148% price surge since April last year and the 50% rally since the ETFs began trading in the U.S. At press time, bitcoin changed hands at $70,400. However, it’s difficult to ascertain the exact percentage of bitcoin that left the inactive supply has been liquidated in the market.

According to the data tracking website MacroMicro, a decrease in the percentage of inactive BTC is a “leading indicator for the end of the bull run.”

Past data, however, show that bull markets tend to peak as the percentage of inactive supply bottoms out and begin rising.