Bitcoin Long-Term Holders Sell for Seven Weeks but Demand Holds Price Up

Bitcoin's long-term holders have been reducing their holdings for seven straight weeks, but market demand has so far absorbed the supply, maintaining the price uptrend.

According to crypto analyst Axel Adler Jr., the change in Bitcoin long-term holder (LTH) holdings turned negative on August 17 and has remained so ever since. As of September 28, the change stood at -73,400 BTC, a significant drop from -1,100 BTC the previous week. Despite this, the current selling pressure is still much lower than the -1.07 million BTC seen in November 2022.

Long-term holders have also been taking profits. The LTH Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR) reached 1.24 on September 21, the highest level since January, and stood at 1.18 on September 28. This means that Bitcoin moved on that date realized an average profit of about 18% versus its purchase price.

Adler noted that while long-term holders are reducing their positions and locking in gains as prices rise, market demand has absorbed the incoming supply so far. However, he warned that if the decline in long-term holder holdings widens to several hundred thousand BTC while Bitcoin's price advance stalls or reverses, it could indicate that the market is struggling to absorb the selling.