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The sell-off immediately followed an accumulation period that prevailed when BTC was trading below $19k.
Bitcoin (BTC) miners have sold off over 7,000 BTC from their cumulative balance since January 12 after the asset recaptured the $19,000 price point. This distribution pattern was preceded by an accumulation period that picked up on January 2 when BTC showed strength but still traded below the pre-FTX levels.
Seasoned analyst Ali recently called attention to the growing distribution trend at a time when miners’ collective balance had depleted by about 4,000 BTC. “when Bitcoin surpassed $20,000, it appears like miners decided to book profits and have sold 4,000 BTC since Jan 12,” Ali said in a tweet Monday after noting that these miners had amassed over 4,600 BTC since January 1.
Miners bought roughly 3,600 $BTC when it trading at $16,700 on Jan 1. They accumulated another 1,000 #BTC between Jan 5 and Jan 11 as prices soared.
But when #Bitcoin surpassed $20,000, it appears like miners decided to book profits and have sold 4,000 BTC since Jan 12. pic.twitter.com/WIrml89utU
— Ali (@ali_charts) January 16, 2023
Citing the CryptoQuant BTC Miner Reserve indicator, Ali highlighted the metric when the Miner Reserve was sitting at 1,843,221 BTC. A few hours after that and the Miner Reserve currently has a value of 1,840,587 at the time of reporting, indicating further selloffs to the tune of 2.6K+ BTC. The current balance of 1,840,587 BTC is 7,068 tokens short of the 1,847,655 peaks noticed on January 12.
This same distribution pattern was previously observed in early November of last year in the wake of the FTX implosion. While the previous selloffs were an attempt at capitulation, the latest trend is aimed at taking profits, considering Bitcoin’s recent price uptick. The Miners’ Position Index also reveals that miners are moderately selling off their holdings.
2,619 BTC On Move
Crypto quant analyst @JA_Maartun highlights that Besides miners, some long-term holders have also seized the opportunity to capitalize on their gains, as 2,619 BTC aged between 2 and 3 years were recently moved on-chain.
BTC Price Performance
Meanwhile, these selloffs have done little to stunt Bitcoin’s latest rally, as the momentum recently picked up following a slight rejection above $21K on Sunday. BTC reclaimed another 2-month high Monday, soaring to $21,474 before slightly retracing. Nevertheless, the asset ended the day at $21,185, a 1.41% increase from its opening price.
Starting today at $21,185, BTC briefly retested $21,299 before facing slight resistance that has so far brought it to the current value of $21,084 as of press time. The asset has maintained a 22.48% gain in the past week, making it the largest gainer within the time frame.
Sentiments have also picked up, with the Coinbase Premium Index revealing high buying pressure on U.S. institutional investors for the first time since December 25. The Crypto Basic also revealed that the Fear and Greed Index slid out of the “Fear” territory for the first time in 9 months.