Cryptocurrency traders continue to move their Bitcoin off of exchanges to private wallets at historic levels.
New data from Glassnode shows BTC balances on leading cryptocurrency exchanges are witnessing the sharpest drop in history. Analysts at the data analytics firm say the downtrend began in late March, as Bitcoin began to recover from a major crash induced by fears over the economic impact of the coronavirus.
“The number of BTC on exchanges has been steadily decreasing since the crash in March, and is now approaching a 1 year low. This is the largest and most prolonged BTC exchange balance downtrend in Bitcoin’s history.”
Glassnode speculates that several factors may be behind the mass movement of BTC.
Investors may be choosing to hold on for the long run and shifting their assets to cold storage or deciding it’s best to hold their assets directly instead of relying on exchanges to do it for them.
“Another partial explanation may be lack of trust; withdrawals from BitMEX, which experienced downtime during the March crash, have been more pronounced than withdrawals from other exchanges. Overall, however, withdrawal for hodling purposes seems to be having a greater effect than lack of trust.”
According to Glassnode, Bitcoin’s on-chain fundamentals are strong, but analysts at the firm say their outlook is not overly bullish.
“While a post-halving price increase is not out of the question, it is likely that the halving is already priced in, and that a breakout in the near future would be optimistic.”
