Bitcoin’s Secret: Long-Term Holders Are Finally Taking a Break… Wait, What?

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On Tuesday, Bitcoin took a hit with its price losing the $90,000 level once again due to a general market drawdown. Even with the price of BTC experiencing a pullback below the pivotal level, investors’ sentiment remained strong, as evidenced by a sharp drop in selling pressure across the market.

Selling BT Long-Term Bitcoin Investors Falls Drastically

The Bitcoin price movement has turned bearish as the crypto market becomes increasingly volatile, but investors are demonstrating an encouraging trend. A clear indication of the encouraging trend from BTC investors is their renewed willingness to hold onto their coins rather than sell them off. Imagine a group of people refusing to sell their lottery tickets, even as the jackpot keeps growing-except here, the lottery is a cryptocurrency that’s somehow still not a bubble.

According to the report from Frank, a crypto expert and BTC market quant, this declining selling pressure is observed among long-term holders. Currently, selling pressure from the cohort has fallen to remarkably low levels, which reflects a notable shift in market behavior and sentiment. It’s like the market finally realized, “Hey, maybe we should stop panicking and just… wait for the next crash?”

Typically considered as the network’s most conviction-driven players, these investors continue to refrain from selling their BTC, causing the Long-Term Holder Sell-side Risk Ratio to fall to its lowest level in the past year. When selling pressure from the group decreases, it often implies confidence in future price increases or the conviction that current levels do not yet warrant selling. Or, as one investor put it, “I’m holding because I’m too lazy to figure out what’s going on.”

Frank highlighted that the last time the Long-Term Holder Sell-side Risk Ratio reached this low, it was the $49,000 bottom following the Yen carry trade unwind. A few months later, the price of BTC witnessed a rally to a new all-time high. Should BTC follow the same trend as last time, a major price surge might be on the horizon. As a result, the expert is highly confident in BTC’s short-term and medium-term prospects. Because nothing says “confidence” like a 50% drop followed by a 200% rebound.

Investors On Crypto Exchanges Are Losing Interest In Selling

Selling pressure has also reduced on major centralized exchanges, especially on Binance. On the platform, large investors or whale transactions involving BTC movement into the exchange are steadily declining. In other words, significantly less Bitcoin is being sent to trading platforms by large holders compared to earlier. It’s like the whales finally learned the lesson: “Don’t fight the Fed, just hold your coins and wait for the next crash.”

Unlike retail investors, whales are typically seen as a more cautious kind of BTC holders and are less susceptible to changes in the market. Data shows that whale inflows have been divided by and are currently valued at around $2.74 billion. At the end of November 2025, these inflows to Binance surged, reaching an average monthly total of nearly $8 billion when BTC’s price drops back below the $90,000 mark. Because nothing says “cautious” like pouring billions into a market that just tanked.

Currently, daily movements are far less frequent compared to the cluster seen at the end of November. This shift in dynamics indicates that whales have changed their behavior and are no longer selling aggressively, leaning more toward a waiting strategy. In the meantime, the holding action appears to be encouraged by the current consolidation period, which greatly lessens the selling pressure from whales, whose impact on the market can be substantial. Or, as one analyst quipped, “The whales are finally taking a nap. Who knew?”

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2026-01-21 19:11