Investors Prefer to Store Their Bitcoins in Wallets by Withdrawing Them from Exchanges

• Despite the gains Bitcoin made in its recent rally, most long-term investors continued to withdraw coins from exchanges to keep them in their wallets.
• As of June 30th, the total BTC balance on all exchanges is 2.2 million, accounting for only 11.7% of the total circulating supply.
• Long-term investors continue to accumulate and transfer coins to their personal wallets, making up nearly 75% of the total supply.

Despite the gains made in Bitcoin’s recent rally, long-term investors have continued to hold onto their coins and prefer to keep them in their personal wallets.

Long-Term Investors Exiting Exchanges

Despite the gains Bitcoin made in its recent rally, most long-term investors continued to withdraw coins from exchanges to keep them in their wallets. The supply of BTC on exchanges reached its lowest level in five years on June 30th, indicating investors’ inclination to HODL.

As of June 30th, the total BTC balance on all exchanges is 2.2 million, accounting for only 11.7% of the total circulating supply. Such balances were last seen during the historic bull market in 2017. However, just like now, they were in a continuous upward trend at that time.

As expected, experienced investors played a role in the decrease in BTC liquidity. Long-term investors continue to accumulate and transfer coins to their personal wallets, making up nearly 75% of the total supply. On the other hand, the supply held by short-term investors or active traders has significantly decreased in the past two years.

What Are the Triggering Factors?

There can be many reasons to explain this behavior. Concerns about the security of funds on centralized exchanges have increased, especially with the collapse of major institutions like FTX. Regulatory pressures on other giants like Coinbase and Binance have further worsened the situation.

However, the HODLing trend is not only driven by negativity. Over the years, BTC has shown resilience amidst market crashes and regulatory hostilities.

Therefore, it has increasingly been seen as a “Store of Value” rather than a speculative asset in day trading. The increased interest from TradFi giants has also enhanced its long-term growth potential.

A Long-Term Bull Signal?

Will Clements, co-founder of a crypto research firm, explained what this ongoing trend could mean for BTC prices in the near future; with the lowest level of BTC available for purchase, future buyers will need to pay significantly higher prices to convince long-term holders to sell.

Meanwhile, a report from The Wall Street Journal revealed that applications to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF were deemed insufficient by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.