The latest data involving Bitcoin (BTC) exchanges and hodlers show that the latter now has more Bitcoin than the exchanges.
The study also shows that the exchanges now have less Bitcoin to sell than they used to have back in early 2018. Back in those days, the exchanges had piles of Bitcoin that the users could buy at any given time.
| Name | Price | 24H (%) |
|---|---|---|
 Bitcoin(BTC) | $66,223.00 | 0.07% |
 Ethereum(ETH) | $3,019.71 | 0.12% |
 Dogecoin(DOGE) | $0.153463 | -1.74% |
 Cardano(ADA) | $0.478845 | 4.68% |
 Polygon(MATIC) | $0.71 | 2.68% |
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However, the situation has changed tremendously in the past five years. Now, it is the hodlers in their possession of Bitcoin than the exchanges.
Research Data by Glassnode
One of the largest on-chain analytics firms has shared up-to-date data pertaining to the reserves of Bitcoin on the exchanges.
They have run a comparison between the exchanges and the hodlers, which goes to show that the hodlers’ investments have increased in Bitcoin.
They have started gathering more Bitcoin and are in possession of more of them than the exchanges.
The latest research carried out by Glassnode shows that as of February 2023, the reserves on the cryptocurrency exchanges for Bitcoin are at five-year lows.
The supply of Bitcoin has Matured
The latest report shared by Glassnode has revealed that the determination level of the hodlers of Bitcoin has increased tremendously.
With the growing determination of the hodlers, the reserves of Bitcoin have continued falling on the exchanges.
The data clearly shows that the balances for Bitcoin are constantly on the downside for the cryptocurrency exchanges. The number of Bitcoin tokens has continued falling on the exchanges on an annual basis.
The supply of assets reaches its maturation when the majority of them are held by the hodlers rather than the exchanges.
BTC Holdings Comparison
According to the comparison run by Glassnode and the latest data gathered on February 27, the major exchanges are holding 2,272,798 BTC.
It was back in March of 2018 when the total number of Bitcoin tokens recorded on the exchanges was at 3,202,326 BTC.
Compared to the current volume, the March 2018 lows would be the all-time high volume of BTC accumulated by the exchanges in 2023.
It was at the beginning of 2020 when the decline actually started to appear. It was the same year when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the crypto adoption skyrocketed.
As the years continued passing, investors understood the nature of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
If not for all cryptocurrencies, the investors have realized that BTC has the ability to rebound if it ever hits the bottom. The pump recorded by BTC since the beginning of 2023 shows exactly what is being stated here.
Investors have continued increasing their accumulations in Bitcoin and the real journey began back in 2020. Since then, the accumulation of investors has continued maturing.
The statistics show that as of February 27, the total Bitcoin in possession of the hodlers is 2,645,956. The current volume of BTC held by the hodlers is 16% more than the BTC held by the exchanges.
Why Investors are Not Selling BTC
One of the major factors explained by Glassnode behind the investors not selling their BTC is the market downtrend and the greed of the investors.
It was greed that took the best of the investors back in 2021 when the price of BTC was at a high of $69k. The investors did not sell BTC even at that time because they hoped that the asset’s value would keep on surging.
As the price of BTC plunged to $16k by the end of 2022, the investors did not sell them because they did not want to be at a loss.
In both cases, it was the investors that kept increasing their accumulation of Bitcoin. Even when BTC hit the bottom level in November 2022, the investors were quick to react, and increase their accumulations.
Going forward, the hodlers may continue increasing their investments in Bitcoin pulling in more tokens from the exchanges.
