Bitcoin prices started the new month on a rough note, continuing the wild swings that started in October. On the afternoon of Friday, November 7th, the premier cryptocurrency briefly fell below the psychological $100,000 level for the second time in the past week.
Bitcoin’s price struggles in recent weeks are believed to be due to changes in the behavior of investors, particularly those known as long-term holders (LTHs). A prominent crypto expert on X offered further insight into the impact of LTH operations on BTC price.
BTC’s apparent demand growth turns negative
In a recent post on the X Platform, Julio Moreno, Head of Research at CryptoQuant, admitted that long-term Bitcoin holders have indeed been offloading their assets over the past few weeks. However, the crypto expert pointed out that the increased sales activity by LTH is not new.
Moreno said it’s common for long-term Bitcoin investors to chip away at some of their holdings during bull markets in an attempt to profit while prices are high. What is different this time is that there is no corresponding demand to mop up these off-roads.
To support this, Moreno shared a graph summarizing long-term holder spending and apparent demand growth over the past few years. For context, apparent demand growth measures the difference in the amount of an asset (in this case Bitcoin) that is acquired compared to the amount that is created (mined).
Source: @jjc_moreno on X
CryptoQuant’s head of research pointed out that despite the apparent growth in demand, Bitcoin prices have previously reached record highs during periods of increased selling by long-term holders. As seen in the chart, this occurred during the all-time high rally periods of January-March 2024 and November-December 2024.
The highlighted chart also shows that long-term Bitcoin holders have been selling since October, which is not particularly out of place. However, apparent demand growth has slowed, suggesting there has been no buying pressure to absorb LTH supply at higher prices.
Ultimately, this on-chain observation suggests that we should not focus too much on the sales activities of long-term Bitcoin holders. For BTC prices to turn around in the coming weeks, we will first need to see an apparent increase in demand.
Bitcoin price overview
As of this writing, the flagship cryptocurrency has recovered over $100,000 and is valued at around $103,700, reflecting an increase of almost 3% in the past 24 hours.
The price of BTC on the daily timeframe | Source: BTCUSDT chart on TradingView
Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView
editing process for is focused on providing thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We adhere to strict sourcing standards, and each page is carefully reviewed by our team of top technology experts and experienced editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of your content to your readers.
