Long-term Bitcoin holders have continued to offload their assets over the past month, selling more than $43 billion worth of BTC.
The wave of profit-taking comes as “Red October” tested investor conviction and dampened demand across the market. Yet analysts argue this doesn’t signal a market top.
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Long-Term Holders Offload Bitcoin While Institutional Demand Slows
According to data from CryptoQuant, long-term Bitcoin holders have offloaded approximately 405,000 BTC over the past month, equivalent to more than $43 billion in realized value.
“We have seen similar scenarios back in March of 2024, and in December 24 /January 2025,” Bitcoinsensus added.
The trend is exemplified by the latest whale activity. CryptoQuant identified an early Bitcoin address, known as 195DJ, that sold 13,004 BTC in October. This also included the 1,200 BTC, worth approximately $132 million, sent to Kraken over the past weekend.
Yesterday, BeInCrypto also reported that several large holders have been moving significant amounts of Bitcoin to exchanges, adding further selling pressure to the market.
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While coins continue moving to exchanges, institutional demand for Bitcoin has slowed sharply. For the first time in seven months, net institutional purchases have fallen below the daily mining supply.
At the same time, demand for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has cooled. Over the past three weeks, the largest Bitcoin ETF, iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), recorded less than 600 BTC in weekly net inflows.
Analysts note that this imbalance, rising supply amid weakening demand, is a key reason behind Bitcoin’s declining price.
“Instead of looking at Bitcoin long-term holder distribution/spending, I like to look at the other side of the trade. Is there enough demand to absorb the supply at higher prices? Since a few weeks ago the answer is no, and that is why we see prices declining,” Julio Moreno, Head of Research at CryptoQuant, said.
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Moreno noted that on a longer timescale, demand for Bitcoin continues to grow — though at a slower pace and below the historical trend.
Analysts Dismiss Panic: Bitcoin Sell-Off Seen as Normal Bull Market Rotation
Not all analysts view this wave of selling as a bearish signal. Some interpret it as a strategic redistribution typical of bull market cycles. Credible Crypto suggests that “OGs” and long-term holders are transferring coins into the hands of traditional finance and institutional investors, many of whom buy on behalf of retail clients.
“The thing is- this doesn’t mean the ‘top is in’ as we see this sort of selling from long term holders during every bull cycle and price is holding up very well despite the sell pressure because of the inflows from non-OG buyers,” the analyst wrote.
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On-chain researcher Willy Woo reinforces this optimistic lens. In a recent analysis, Woo observed that long-term holder supply naturally contracts during bull markets.
“Long term holder is a misnomer. Definition: any coin that has aged more than 5 months in a wallet address. LTH supply will drop in bull markets because those coins move to new investors. In 2025 it also means a custody rotation to launch a treasury company,” Woo remarked.
Despite these optimistic interpretations, Bitcoin has continued to face headwinds. BeInCrypto Markets data showed that the price has slipped by over 6% in the past week.
At the time of writing, BTC traded at $107,046, down 0.45% over the past 24 hours.
