2020 bull market buyers now control 16% of supply.
Over the past three years, Bitcoin (BTC) has acquired a new generation of hodlers as stubborn investors refuse to sell.
Data from the popular HODL Waves gauge shows that those who bought Bitcoin at the end of 2020 are still sitting on their coins.
The price of BTC has to go “high way” to sell to hodlers
A group of long-term Bitcoin investors known as long-term holders (LTHs) are in no mood to reduce their exposure despite the 2023 bull run.
HODL Waves, which categorizes the supply of BTC from the last time each coin moved, shows that a certain age band has grown significantly over the past year.
Since the bear market bottomed out in late 2022, coins that haven't moved in two to three years have significantly increased their presence in their overall supply. Last December, the group accounted for 8% of the supply; Now its share is more than 15%.
Put another way, those who bought BTC between December 2020 and December 2021 resisted the urge to make massive gains.
Realized HODL Waves, which show the relative weighted value of coin collections, show the largest gains as a percentage of the total realized cap for the two- to three-year coin.
Yet BTC/USD is up as much as 165% year-to-date, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView confirm, making Hodler's resistance worthless.
Philip Swift, creator of the statistical resource HODL Waves, has repeatedly commented on the LTH phenomenon as seasoned investors increasingly settle in their positions.
“Bitcoin 1yr HODL wave hasn't quite taken off yet,” he predicted on X (formerly Twitter) last month about another group of hodlers.
Long-term Bitcoiners won't sell their coins until we go up.
Analysts on the back foot
The opposite group to LTHs – short-term holders (STH) or speculators – on the other hand, increased profits last week.
Related: ECB ‘Last Gas' at $16.4K
As Cointelegraph reports, Bitcoin's passing of $40,000 triggered a quick selling response from these entities, with $4.5 billion worth of BTC sold in just a few days.
This has had no impact on spot markets in an environment where LTHs are already more supply-constrained than before.
According to data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, the figure stood at 14.92 million BTC on December 6 – slightly lower than the 14.95 million, or 76.3% of supply, seen on November 28.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and business activity involves risk, and readers should do their own research when making a decision.
