Test in progress 2

An analysis suggests that as long-term Bitcoin (BTC) holders shift into a net-buying phase, the selling overhang that had been a key source of downside pressure on the market throughout this year is easing.

According to CoinDesk, a specialist outlet covering virtual assets (cryptocurrencies), long-term holders (Long-term Holder·LTH)—defined as those who have held Bitcoin for at least 155 days—were net buyers of about 33,000 BTC over the past 30 days. It is the first time since July that long-term holders have shown net accumulation.

According to data from on-chain analytics firm Checkonchain, the shift to net buying is largely driven by investors who bought Bitcoin over the past six months now aging into the long-term holder cohort. As the pace of inflows from these new long-term holders has exceeded the distribution by existing long-term holders, a net increase has formed, the report said.

This year, selling by long-term holders has been cited as one of the largest sources of selling pressure in the Bitcoin market. In fact, during the recent correction, long-term holders sold more than 1 million bitcoins, marking the largest selling pressure from this cohort since 2019.

The latest selling corresponds to the third long-term holder distribution phase in the current cycle. The first occurred in March 2024 when Bitcoin reached $73,000, with about 700,000 sold. The second came in November the same year when Bitcoin hit $100,000, releasing more than 750,000 BTC into the market.

The outlet noted, "Given that it takes 155 days to be classified as a long-term holder, buying flows that entered in recent months are now rolling into the long-term holder cohort and changing the supply-and-demand structure," adding that this "suggests the burden of long-term holder selling on the market is gradually weakening."