How Bitcoin [BTC] holders are proving to be in for the long haul

• The Bitcoin balance held on exchange addresses hit the lowest in more than five years.
• The relative quiet in the market suggests that many investors have decided to hold for the long term.

Almost 2000 days after the last lowest exchange balance, Bitcoin [BTC] exchange addresses have recorded a new low in the metric. According to Glassnode, the Bitcoin balance held by exchange addresses reached 2.26 million.

Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price Prediction 2023-2024

An occurrence like this suggests that many holders were not willing to sell BTC yet despite the positive yields registered recently. Needless to say, over the last 30 days, the king coin’s value has increased by 19.90%.

While mild profit-taking has led to a fall below $31,000, most holders did not see the reason to send into exchanges in a bid to sell.

Out to see it to the end

On looking at the exchange withdrawal price per year, the on-chain analytic platform showed that BTC’s realized price was $25,627. This implied that holders have been making moves to hold Bitcoin in self-custody since the aforementioned price on a Year-To-Date (YTD) basis.

Source: Glassnode

Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s social dominance increased significantly from the fall on 5 July. This metric typically measures discussions around an asset compared to others in the top 100. 

The social dominance shine implied that Bitcoin might overcome upcoming influences from the macroeconomic sector. And this could turn into a rebound season especially as the broader crypto community considers it worthy to converse about.

Likewise, Bitcoin’s weighted sentiment moved a bit higher. According to Santiment, the weighted sentiment was -0.928. The metric takes into account unique social commentary about an asset. 

No plan to jump ship?

When it increases or jumps into the positive region, it suggests that the average perception is optimistic. But when it falls, it means that market participants are not elated by an asset’s performance.

Thus, BTC’s weighted sentiment means there was an improvement from the pessimistic nature of the previous month.

Source: Santiment

Perhaps, it is also necessary to assess holders’ behavior using the Spent Coins Age Bands. The Spent Coins Age Bands classify spent coins based on the heatmap in the market. This is visually represented by uptrends and downtrends relative to the total volume of coins moved. 

Realistic or not here’s BTC’s market cap in ETH terms

At press time, Santiment showed Bitcoin’s Spent Coins Age Bands have been oscillating at higher highs and lower lows. When the metric is at a high point, it means that there is a lot of trading activity going on in the market.

Source: Santiment

However, at the time of writing, the Spent Coins Age Bands were down to 17,300. This signified a drop in buying and selling and investors may be holding on to their coins for the long term.