Bitcoin Holders Are Accumulating At Levels Rarely Seen Before

Long-term investors are returning strongly to bitcoin. According to the latest on-chain data, their BTC reserves are approaching a historic level, ending several years of decline. This gradual accumulation reduces the available supply in the market, while institutional flows continue to increase the pressure on bitcoin.

Historical investors accumulate bitcoin again

Data shows that the supply held by long-term investors, holding their bitcoins for at least 155 days, is now approaching a historic peak.

This growth mainly marks the end of a bearish trend established over several years, during which some historical holders had progressively distributed their BTC to the market. According to Glassnode figures :

• Nearly 80 % of the circulating supply is now controlled by long-term investors ;
• About 4 million BTC are held by conviction investors ;
• This category of investors has increased its reserves by about 300 % since the end of 2025.

This dynamic directly changes the market balance. Fewer bitcoins are actively circulating on exchanges, which mechanically reduces the short-term available supply. Mati Greenspan estimates that “periods of liquid supply reduction combined with a demand recovery have historically preceded the most aggressive bullish expansions of bitcoin.”

Several analysts already compare this accumulation phase to the configurations observed after the 2020 Covid crash, during which conviction investors began massively absorbing the available supply before the start of the previous bullish cycle.

ETFs and institutional investors reshape the market structure

Beyond on-chain data, this accumulation also reflects the evolving profile of buyers on the market. The arrival of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States has profoundly changed capital flows since 2024, with a progressive absorption of part of the available supply by institutional investment vehicles.

This new demand helps to further lock the circulating supply and reinforces the scarcity sentiment around bitcoin. Connor Howe, an analyst at Enso, thus estimates that “the bitcoin scarcity narrative is evolving from a theory into a market structure.”

This transformation does not mean, however, the disappearance of profit-taking. Indeed, some long-term investors were still realizing nearly 180 million dollars in daily profits after BTC returned above 80,000 dollars. The market is therefore marked by constant arbitrages between strategic accumulation and securing gains. Thus, the difference mainly lies in the fact that long-term buyers now seem to absorb distribution phases faster than during previous cycles.

This configuration could weigh sustainably on bitcoin’s future dynamics. If institutional demand continues to grow while the liquid supply contracts, the market could enter a phase of structural tension on the available supply. Several analysts already see the beginnings of a new supply shock, a scenario in which the asset’s scarcity abruptly accelerates bullish moves when buyers massively return to the market.