Long-term Bitcoin BTC/USD holders and miners, often referred to as “whales,” have sold more than $1 billion worth of Bitcoin in the past fortnight, according to a report by on-chain analysis firm CryptoQuant.
What Happened: As reported by CoinDesk, whales offloaded the Bitcoin, likely through brokers rather than on the open market. CryptoQuant analysts have observed a lack of demand growth from large Bitcoin holders and a continued slowdown in stablecoin liquidity, the slowest since November 2023.
A drop in UTXO (unspent transaction output) age points to rising network activity, likely through an increase in selling in the market.
Miners are shifting towards the artificial intelligence (AI) sector and selling their Bitcoin rewards instead of holding, according to market watchers like Lucy Hu, senior analyst at crypto fund Metalpha.
![Benzinga future of digital assets conference](https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/27091545/Benzinga-conference.gif)
Why It Matters: Bitcoin prices have dropped from $71,000 to around $65,000 since June 5. U.S.-based spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of over $600 million last week, the biggest outflow week since late April. This bearish turn has prompted a general downtrend in the cryptocurrency market, with leading cryptocurrencies following Bitcoin lower as traders remain cautious.
The news comes as Nvidia surpassed Microsoft to become the world’s most valuable company by market capitalization.
What’s Next: The convergence of AI and cryptocurrencies is expected to be thoroughly explored at Benzinga’s upcoming Future of Digital Assets event on Nov. 19.
This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo: Shutterstock
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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