coindesk.com
Bitcoin lost 6% in one week even as Nasdaq climbed to an all-time high.
Crypto-specific factors like profit-taking by holders and increased selling by miners seem to be holding back the $BTC price.
Bitcoin ($BTC) has declined over 6% in seven days, deviating from its usually positive correlation with the equity market's tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index.
While the popular narrative blames bitcoin's slide on the Federal Reserve's decision to signal just one U.S. interest-rate cut for the rest of the year, technology stocks extended gains after Wednesday's decision, indicating crypto-specific factors may be stopping $BTC from keeping pace with the Nasdaq.
"When a market continues to sell off at a specific level, it has less to do with events, narratives, or fundamentals. Instead, a large seller perceives prices to be overvalued at that level," Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, said. "The November 2021 all-time high of nearly 70,000 is a level where long-term holders are willing to sell their Bitcoins, as they are the most likely candidates to cash out."
Earlier this week, a wallet that had been inactive since 2018 moved 8,000 $BTC worth over $500 million to crypto exchange Binance. A move from a wallet to an exchange is often a signal of an impending sale. The wallet reportedly acquired the $BTC at less than $4,000.
Data tracked by analytics firm CryptoQuant show that the number of $BTC inactive for at least 12 months and two years has declined, a sign of holders have taken profits as the bitcoin price holds near record highs.
"Addresses with supply inactive for 1 and 2 years have been selling since around price hit record high. This is offsetting accumulation by longer-term holders (+3-year)," Ilan Solot, co-head of digital assets at Marex Solutions, said in an email on Wednesday.
According to Thielen, 1.8 million $BTC have not moved for over a decade, potentially including the 1.1 million $BTC mined by Satoshi himself. "This is why we would also expect that most of the Mt. Gox holders will convert their $BTC into fiat once they take possession of their $BTC in October/November 2024," Thielen noted.
Mt. Gox, a crypto exchange that imploded due to a hack in 2014, is gearing toward distributing 142,000 bitcoin ($BTC) worth roughly $9.5 billion and 143,000 bitcoin cash (BCH) worth $73 million to creditors, CoinDesk reported in April. A distribution could pose a substantial overhang on digital asset prices. The trustees of the defunct exchange last year set an Oct. 31, 2024 deadline to reimburse creditors.
Another reason for $BTC's price weakness could be increased selling by miners, or those responsible for making coins. Miners receive $BTC as a reward for approving blocks on the blockchain and additional revenue from user transaction fees.
Listed miner Marathon Digital (MARA) has sold 1,400 bitcoin worth $98 million this month. According to CryptoQuant, miners sold at least 1,200 $BTC on June 10 via the over-the-counter desks, the highest single-day volume in over two months.
The hashrate, or the computing power dedicated to the Bitcoin blockchain, has declined from 622 exahashes per second (EH/s) to 599 EH/s this month. That's a sign of miner capitulation.