Some 11,580,000 Bitcoin, worth about $84 billion, has not moved in more than a year.
The number represents about 64% of all Bitcoin mined to date. The 12-month dormant figure, reported by BitInfoCharts, is all the more eye-popping given 2019’s price volatility.
Bitcoin skyrocketed in value from about $4,000 at the beginning of December 2018 to nearly $13,800 on June 26th – a 245% increase over seven months. Then, it subsequently plummeted by more than 50% over the next five months, dropping to $6,617 by November 25th.
At time of writing, BTC is trading at $7,314, according to CoinMarketCap.
Some on Crypto Twitter are pointing to the long-term hoarding as evidence of Bitcoin’s value as a decentralized asset.
The numbers also show 7.09 million BTC (about 39% of the mined total) hasn’t moved in two years; 4.97 million BTC (about 27%) hasn’t moved in three; 3.91 million BTC (about 22%) hasn’t moved in five; and 2.37 million (about 13%) hasn’t moved in eight.
After Bitcoin price drops in October, crypto analysis firm Coin Metrics published research indicating selling pressure during the market breakdown came mainly from short-term traders who last purchased Bitcoin when it was trading between $10,000 and $12,000.
On the flip side, traders that acquired Bitcoin at below $8,000 are long-term investors, the report states.
“Approximately 11.46 million Bitcoin belong to this cohort. Despite the extreme market movement, these holders have remained resolute in their market views — only 150,000 of the 11.46 million Bitcoin were seen to have moved on-chain.
Profit taking or panic selling was limited among these holders. This behavior indicates that for the majority of Bitcoin holders, the market view of Bitcoin being in a bull market remains unchanged.”