Bitcoin HODLers are increasing at a record pace: Santiment

Crypto market intelligence platform Santiment suggested that the number of bitcoin investors turning into long-term holders has increased recently.

In addition, Glassnode determined that more than 50% of all BTC in circulation has not moved in the last two years.

Almost 45 million HODLers

As analyzed by Santiment, the total amount of individuals and entities holding bitcoin long-term has risen to nearly 45 million, and the numbers have risen the fastest since early 2021 (from January 2021 to April 2021).

It’s worth mentioning that BTC was in the middle of a bull run back then, starting the year at around $30,000 and rising above $64,000 a few months later. At the end of April 2021, there were approximately 38 million HODLers, while the number is currently on its way to 45 million.

Another chart indicating that many traders prefer to keep their holdings untouched was presented by crypto analysis platform Glassnode. It showed that an all-time high (53%) of bitcoin’s supply was last active more than two years ago.

Furthermore, nearly 30% of all BTC in circulation (over $155 billion in market capitalization) hasn’t moved in the last five years, while less than 15% was last active a decade ago.

Anthony Pompliano – an American entrepreneur and host of The Pomp Podcast – shared the data on his Twitter account and argued that over 2.7 million BTC are “lost, forgotten or in the hands of the most disciplined investors in the world.”

The bear market offered opportunities

While the prolonged crypto winter caused significant damage to a number of organizations and triggered a severe market downturn, it also gave investors the opportunity to increase their exposure to bitcoin at relatively lower costs.

As The crypto potato recently reported, addresses containing over 1 BTC have climbed to nearly a million. The sharp increase occurred mainly between the summer of 2021 and the beginning of 2023.

In fact, the numbers skyrocketed shortly after the crash of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The number of addresses with more than 1 BTC was less than 927,000 on November 11 (when the platform filed for bankruptcy protection) and almost 970,000 a month later.

At the time of the crash, the leading digital asset fell below $16,000. However, dedicated investors who have entered the ecosystem for the long term seem to have seen the event as a great chance to stack more bets.