VanEck Says Mid-Cycle Holders Drove Bitcoin Slide as Long-Term Whales Added Coins

Overview

• On-chain data shows wallets dormant for five years or more added roughly 278,000 BTC over the past two years, signaling resilient long-term accumulation.
• Supply held by the three-to-five-year cohort fell about 32% over two years, identifying mid-cycle traders as the primary sellers during the decline.
• Bitcoin exchange-traded products posted about 49,300 BTC of outflows since October 10 as retail fear gauges fell to their lowest since March.
• Perpetual futures open interest dropped roughly 19% in 12 hours and is down about 20% since October, with funding at late-2023 lows and basis trades likely dampening that signal.
• Wallet distribution shows 10,000–100,000 BTC addresses cut holdings over six to twelve months but turned net buyers over the past 30–90 days, while 100–1,000 BTC holders raised balances by 9% and 23% over those periods.