It appears many of the world’s bitcoin units have “gone to sleep” over the past six months. A statement like this is not meant to be taken literally, but it appears there are several units of the world’s number one digital currency that have gone “dormant” in the last half year.
$370 Billion in Bitcoin Has Been Dormant
What this means is that a good portion of the bitcoin supply hasn’t moved. It hasn’t taken part in transactions, it hasn’t changed wallets, nothing has happened. As much as $370 billion in bitcoin has remained perfectly still, and this is to be expected following a long and bearish period like what we saw in 2022.
That year was arguably the worst on record for bitcoin and its many crypto cousins. The world’s primary form of crypto took on new form in November of 2021 when it hit a new all-time high of about $68,000 per unit. Things, however, went downhill from there when the currency chose to enter a 12-month bear period in which it lost more than 70 percent of its overall value. By the end of 2022, the currency was trading in the mid-$16K range. It was a sad and ugly sight to see.
However, things didn’t quite stop there. The asset was followed “in spirit” by many of its altcoin cousins, who also chose to fall victim to the market’s bear conditions. Currencies like Ethereum lost tons of value as well, and by the end of the year, the crypto space had shed more than $2 trillion. It left a lot of people feeling blank and empty, and it gave crypto critics a chance to point their fingers in people’s faces and shout, “We told you so!”
2023 has been a bit different in that the currency is up nearly 50 percent since the end of last year. Bitcoin has recently struck the $25K mark, and it’s once again enduring bullish trends that could see it rise to the top of the financial ladder by the end of the year. However, investors still need a chance to monitor the market and make sure that this new bull run is not a fluke. That’s likely why trades have been limited over the past six months; many investors are still reluctant to jump back in.
Are People More Focused on Long-Term Gains?
Miguel Morel – CEO of Arkham Intelligence – explained in a recent interview that this could be less due to fears surrounding the market, however and more because traders are looking to focus on long-term gains, something they didn’t really do last year. He said:
The bitcoin community has clearly become more long-term oriented, focusing primarily on holdings. Other chains such as Ethereum have communities building tools and services where coins move significantly more, mostly in pursuit of profits.
Source: https://www.livebitcoinnews.com/much-of-the-worlds-bitcoin-has-been-asleep-lately/