Bitcoin (BTC) LTHs Are Accumulating the Asset at a Growing Rate

Bitcoin's long-term holders, or LTHs, seem increasingly confident in the asset—accumulation trends since February 25, 2023, show steady if not growing confidence.

Bitcoin’s long-term holders (LTHs) appear to be displaying an increasing level of confidence in the asset, indicated by the steady, if not growing, trends in accumulation since February 25.

As of Thursday, LTHs have been adding to their positions, with the 30-day accumulation rate nearly reaching 6%—a noticeable shift in what seems like a now-getting-clearer picture of sentiment.

And what’s even more interesting about the current state of Bitcoin’s LTHs is that their daily accumulation rate seems almost robust. Since February, the daily accumulation pace has been averaging around 7%. For long-term holders, this signals something almost like an insatiable appetite for Bitcoin.

At the same time, the proportion of Bitcoin supply in the hands of long-term holders versus short-term holders is undergoing a sizable shift. This measure, which not long ago hit a trough in early February, has been climbing steadily since then. As of March 14, it’s been ascending even faster, at a compounded 0.42% per day on average. If those holds keep holding, this ratio is on pace to touch its 2025 target of 5.53 once again. That would be a nice rebound from its current level of 3.53 and continue to highlight what a long-term tuned-in audience Bitcoin now has.

U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs See Significant Inflows

The increased interest in Bitcoin is not just limited to individual investors, as increased optimism extends to institutional investors.

Over the past week, U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have experienced net inflows.

On March 24, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a net inflow of $84.17 million, continuing a streak of seven consecutive days with actual inflows, according to data from CCData.

These inflows signal an increasing confidence in Bitcoin as an asset class, with institutional investors leading the way.

The most substantial net inflow received in a single day came from Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETF (FBTC), which pulled in $82.85 million just on March 24. Fidelity has established a well-deserved reputation for being a significant institutional player in the adoption of Bitcoin. It is hard to imagine how we could fare better with an ETF on Bitcoin than with one from a company such as Fidelity, which oversees an ETF on Bitcoin that is not attracting much interest.

The sequence of reassuring inflows indicates that Bitcoin is being warmly welcomed and not just tentatively embraced by the new category of institutional investor. We seem to be partaking of a Bitcoin oasis here, with no mirage in sight, unlike what we saw, for example, in early 2018 when we came off a similarly optimistic spell. Longer-term holders, presumably the same kind of people or organizations who were holding in 2018, are still holding; in fact, they’re accumulating in their currently unreported vaults. The only reported accumulators appear to be the new cohort of ETF buyers.

Growing Confidence Among Bitcoin’s Long-Term Holders

The data regarding Bitcoin’s LTHs is part of a much larger trend that shows LTHs are not only sticking around but also seem to be in an accumulation mode.

As noted by Glassnode, LTHs, who purchase Bitcoin with a multiyear time horizon, have been largely unfazed by the price ups and downs that affect the much-hated short-term market. Maybe the LTHs know something we don’t.

LTHs have been steadily adding to their positions since February 23, and this signals that they are not being swayed by short-term volatility.

Accumulation for them is, of course, not just a matter of increasing the quantity of Bitcoin that they hold; it is also a sign of confidence in the notion that this asset has a long-term path of appreciation ahead. In terms of the current market dynamics, these LTHs see this moment in time as an opportunity to add to their holdings at price points that are comparatively lower than the peaks endured in that ill-fated year of 2021.

The metric of LTH accumulation is very important to watch. It is very telling of the current market sentiment. When accumulation is flat or decreasing, it shows that the holders are not confident enough in the current market to continue buying. Conversely, when accumulation is happening at a nice rate (like it is right now), it shows that there is a decent amount of confidence in the market. What’s more is that now, at this very moment, we have the accumulation rate increasing at about 7% per day. That is quite significant.

Implications for the Bitcoin Market

Examining the larger Bitcoin market, what seems to be emerging is a clear overall optimism. The picture painted by Bitcoin’s LTHs and by the