Top analytics firm Glassnode says that a transfer of wealth is occurring within Bitcoin (BTC) as coins move from long-term holders to new speculators attempting to trade the current bull market.
In a new report, Glassnode says that as Bitcoin breaks another all-time high, speculators have arrived to open leveraged futures positions, often buying their BTC from longer-term HODLers who have been holding since the bear market.
Glassnode calls it a “classic wealth transfer” from the HODLer cohort to speculators.
The firm shares a chart suggesting that bull markets tend to peak when young coins, or coins that have been held for less than three months, are above 60% of the realized market cap of Bitcoin, while currently, they are below 40%.
“Investors who accumulated BTC at cheaper prices several months to years in the past, tend to accelerate their distribution pressure as new ATHs are reached (see our prior report).
This wealth transfer is once again in play, with the proportion of wealth held by ‘Young coins’ (moved within the last 3 months), increasing by 138% since October 2023. This reflects a net expenditure by longer-term investors who had previously held their coins for at least 3 months.”
Glassnode says that just like prior market cycles, a massive transfer of coins from long-term holders (LTHs) to short term holders (STHs) has played out since late last year. The firm says that BTC held by LTHs has declined by 660,000 since hitting a peak in November 2023, and conversely, 810,000 coins have gone into the hands of STHs in the same time period.
“Overall, this transfer of wealth appears to be following a very similar path to all prior Bitcoin cycles, and represents both a shifting ownership structure, but also the dynamic balance between supply, demand, and price.”
At time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $70,440.
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