• New data shows that over 53% of Bitcoin has not moved in the last two years despite price swings in recent months. 
• The activities of sophisticated investors and whales, coupled with increased lost assets, are significant for the figure.

The hodling culture is deeply rooted in digital assets and current indicators show growth across multiple cryptocurrencies amid recent bear markets.

Recent data released by blockchain analytics firm Glassnode shows that holders have not moved more than half the number of Bitcoin (BTC) in circulation in two years. The figure, which stands at 53.14% is at an all-time high which points to the growing desire by investors to hold assets on a long-term basis.

While 19.3 million BTC has been mined since 2009, the report shows that 10.2 million BTC are still sitting in wallets. The factors responsible for over $300 billion worth of BTC going dormant are the trading patterns of whales and, unfortunately, lost assets.

The CEO of Arkham Intelligence, commenting on the report, stated that dormant coins will eventually come back in circulation over time. 

“Coins have organically transferred from those with high-time and liquidity preference to those with low-time and liquidity preference. Through all the shake-ups, for every seller, there’s a buyer.”

This data comes up as the price of the market leader moves past the $30,000 mark for the first time in eight months after a positive start in Q1 2023. An increase in the price of BTC can lead dormant assets to come back into the scene as long-term holders will look to trade for profits.

Will hodling continue?

In the last decade, several whales resurfaced huge crypto holdings making shocking returns by moving assets to new wallets. Glassnode indicated investors are less likely to spend coins after 155 days and will hold those assets for a long time.

Records also show long-term ‘sophisticated investors’ make more money than retail investors. Morel also stated that some assets will never return to circulation because they have simply been lost. This is a major problem attributed to amateur investors who forget their wallet’s private keys.