Over the past 158 days since the start of the year, the amount of bitcoin held by exchanges and miners has decreased by 183,253 BTC, worth nearly $13 billion. About 90.95% of this bitcoin withdrawal comes from cryptocurrency exchange reserves.
Exchanges and miners see massive reductions
From January 1 to June 7, 2024, a significant amount of bitcoin (BTC) exited the reserves of bitcoin miners and exchanges. While less than 10% of the total comes from BTC miners, their overall holdings have been steadily decreasing. According to data from cryptoquant.com, approximately 183,253 BTC, worth $12.9 billion, were withdrawn from the combined wallets of miners and exchanges.
Bitcoin mineral reserves as of January 1, 2024, according to cryptoquant.com.
Approximately 9.05%, or 16,578 BTC worth $1.17 billion, moved away from the collective addresses of current BTC miners. At the beginning of the year, miners held 1,833,179 BTC, which has now dropped to 1,816,601 BTC. However, reserves have seen a slight increase since June 3, when they hit a low of 1.814 million. Cryptocurrency trading platforms have seen a significant loss, with 90.95%, or 166,675 BTC, withdrawn since January 1.
At the start of the year, exchanges held 3,009,239 BTC, which has since fallen to 2,842,564 BTC. A lot has changed this year, especially with the launch of spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) on January 11, 2024. Data from sosovalue.xyz shows that these ETFs have seen cumulative net inflows of approximately $15.34 billion since their launch. Meanwhile, Grayscale’s GBTC has lost more than 333,000 BTC since January 11.
Bitcoin exchange reserves as of January 1, 2024, according to cryptoquant.com.
To date, 48 days have passed since the fourth Bitcoin halving, which took place at block 840,000. Since then, and moving forward, the number of BTC issued has decreased significantly, making it difficult for miners to maintain reserves due to operational costs and overheads. An increase in the hashprice, which has been rising since BTC crossed the $70,000 mark, will help bolster reserves.
After hitting a low of $45 per petahash per second per day, the expected value of one petahash has now stabilized at $62. This continued depletion of bitcoin from exchanges and miners not only highlights a trend towards greater individual holding, but also amplifies bitcoin’s intrinsic value through greater scarcity. As more and more BTC exits public trading venues, its rarity could push its market value further, suggesting the potential for an even higher valuation in a landscape where supply increasingly lags demand .
What do you think about the number of bitcoins that have left the wallets of miners and exchanges? Share your thoughts and opinions on this topic in the comments section below.
