Bitcoin Long-Term Holders Accumulate 800,000 BTC In One Month

Bitcoin long-term holders have recently made a significant move, accumulating 800,000 BTC in a single month, marking the highest monthly net growth ever recorded. This accumulation indicates that these coins have been untouched for more than six months, officially categorizing them as Long-Term Holder (LTH) status. The coins were purchased when Bitcoin was trading between $95,000 and $107,000, with spot prices still holding above $100,000 today.

The term “LTH” refers to the age of the coins rather than the addresses holding them. A coin is considered long-term once it remains untouched for over 180 days. This accumulation spike is not just about whales parking coins but about the duration these coins sit untouched. This kind of accumulation spike has only occurred six times in Bitcoin’s 15-year history, highlighting the current trend of investors holding onto their Bitcoin more firmly than ever before.

Since May 9, Bitcoin has remained relatively stable, trading within a $10,000 range despite a brief jump near $112,000. This stability is noteworthy given the significant inflows into Bitcoin ETFs, which pulled in $3.5 billion across 12 straight trading sessions, marking their ninth week of inflows out of the last 11. However, the price of Bitcoin has barely moved, suggesting a change in ownership dynamics. Markus Thielen, head of 10x Research, explained that the demand from ETFs and other institutions is being offset by selling from larger wallets, indicating that megawhales are gradually exiting their positions.

Julio Moreno, research chief at CryptoQuant, identified the real power buyers this year as wallets holding between 100 and 1,000 BTC, a group CryptoQuant calls dolphins. These wallets are likely institutions spreading coins across many smaller wallets. For example, BlackRock operates around 550 wallets, averaging 1,290 BTC each, while Strategy controls 490 wallets, averaging 927 BTC each. Despite appearing as mid-sized holders, these entities are actually large holders, having purchased thousands of Bitcoin through their network of smaller wallets.

Meanwhile, early Chinese mining operations, which controlled up to 75% of the global hashrate between 2013 and 2021, still hold at least five million BTC. In previous bull runs, these dormant wallets would start dumping onto exchanges. However, this time, these older wallets are only releasing as many Bitcoins as can be scooped up by ETFs and companies like Strategy. Thielen noted that these wallets are holding tight and only releasing coins as they are absorbed by institutional buyers.

Strategy has slowed its acquisition pace due to tighter stock premiums and increased competition from other companies moving Bitcoin onto their balance sheets. They remain the biggest public buyer but are not pushing as hard right now. The whale cohorts and megawhales have been net sellers in 2025, while retail wallets are also offloading. However, as long as the dolphins continue to buy faster than the whales sell, the market remains steady. If this dynamic flips, the market could stall out, creating a slight bearish bias and making a breakout unlikely without a clear shift in the tactical flow indicator. Until that signal improves, consolidation is expected to continue.