Bitcoin exchanges now own 16% less BTC than the oldest hodlers

Bitcoin (BTC) exchanges have less BTC to buy than at any time since early 2018, the latest data shows.

On-chain analytics firm Glassnode confirms that as of February 2023, exchange reserves are at five-year lows.

“Wild stat” shows Bitcoin supply maturation

The latest statistics to reflect the determination of Bitcoin hodlers, major exchanges’ BTC balances are in “down only” mode.

As of Feb. 27, the latest date for which data is available, the platforms tracked by Glassnode held a combined 2,272,798 BTC.

It was in March 2018 that the number was so low, which March 2020 represents the current all-time high of 3,202,326 BTC.

The moment of the COVID-19 cross-market crash, from then on, exchange reserves began to fall, accelerating through the 2022 bear market to stand 29% lower now.

The impressive numbers meanwhile do not end there.

As noted by William Clemente, co-founder of Bitcoin-focused research firm Reflexivity, the exchange balance lows mean that they now hold less BTC than that the oldest hodler addresses.

“There is now more Bitcoin that hasn’t moved in at least 10 years than there is on exchanges. Wild stat,” he commented on Feb. 28.

Further Glassnode data puts the total BTC now dormant for ten years or more at 2,645,956 BTC — 16% more than the total exchange balance.

No panic selling here

As Cointelegraph reported, hodlers have stepped up their resilience in 2023 after weathering a brutal bear market throughout the past year.

Even as BTC price action began heading higher, the hodling continued, with limited sales combining with increasing exposure.

That trend shows little sign of reversing at current levels, with hodlers’ combined net position change reaching four-month highs this weekend.

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