Since last October, major shark and whale addresses (containing 10 to 10,000 BTC) have dumped a total of $10.75 billion worth of bitcoin, which has significantly lowered investor sentiment toward the currency. The distribution, which started two weeks prior to November 8—the day that BTC reached its all-time high—has caused a sharp fall in the supply ratio held by these addresses.
The circulation of bitcoin has drastically dried up in addition to this slow reduction. A research published today by the cryptocurrency analytics platform Santiment claims that these indicators are to blame for the asset's poor year-end performance.
📊 Since 2 weeks before the Nov, 2021 #Bitcoin #AllTimeHigh, shark & whale addresses holding 10 to 10,000 $BTC have dumped a collective $10.75B. This drop, combined with circulation drying up, has led to a sputtering end to 2022. Read our year-end report. https://t.co/dnnIwjyE9f pic.twitter.com/967MTOfKRO
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) December 31, 2022
According to a graphic, the percentage of the total bitcoin supply owned by whale and shark addresses (which can contain between 10 and 10,000 BTC) has dramatically decreased since late October, standing at 67.2% at the moment. It has been nearly a year since the current supply ratio has been this low.
Additionally, the number of addresses holding at least 100 Bitcoin has fallen to 16,169, and as of the time of reporting, just 114 addresses have at least 10K Bitcoin.
Although Circulation is Decreasing, LTHs are Unfazed
The supply ratio of bitcoin on exchanges has gradually decreased to 6.71% during the capitulation phase. Although this indicator often signals bullish trends, a steady decline in BTC trade volume shows that the asset's circulation is drying up as a result of declining demand.
BTC is down about 76% from its ATH and over 64% year-to-date with a current value of $16,574 as of press time. With a seven-day decrease of 1.61%, the asset has been trading flat over the last hour. Investors and advocates in the field have yet to see the return they were hoping for.
The vast majority of long-term holders (LTHs) are unconcerned despite these alarming figures. The Binary CDD indicator from CryptoQuant indicates little fluctuation among long-term investors. Furthermore, according to data from IntoTheBlock, 72% of bitcoin's present owners have owned the commodity for at least a year.
