Long-term Bitcoin holders are reorganising their portfolios as ETFs and other new Blockchain projects start to look more attractive.
Long-time holders have started changing how they manage their Bitcoin.
Some early adopters are now moving their coins to exchanges to rebalance their portfolios or buy back exposure through ETFs.
Their actions are interesting because many of these investors spent years holding their coins without making any moves. Their recent activity thus shows a change in views about how to hold and use Bitcoin today.
Why Some Early Holders Are Selling
Dr Martin Hiesboeck from Uphold noted in a recent X post that he believes the main reason many long-term holders are selling comes from tax rules tied to Bitcoin ETFs.
In the United States, these funds offer tax treatments that many investors find helpful. Some holders are now moving their existing Bitcoin to exchanges, selling them, and then buying back exposure through ETFs.
I have not been asked repeatedly what I think of OG bitcoiners selling their stash. Especially because those were the people who used to say things like 1 BTC = 1 BTC or no nonsense like never sell. If I had made billions of dollars by holding BTC for 13 years, I would certainly… pic.twitter.com/j4jHMOfR6s
— Dr Martin Hiesboeck (@MHiesboeck) November 9, 2025
This gives them a more structured approach and may lower their tax burden under current rules.
Another reason involves the wider crypto market. Many early adopters entered Bitcoin because it was the first major digital asset. Since then, many new projects have grown around Blockchain use cases.
Some of these projects attract investors who want more than exposure to a single asset. As a result, some early holders are choosing to diversify.
Large and Dormant Wallets Are Moving Again
Several events have occurred recently. For example, LookOnChain recently shared evidence that shows that early Bitcoin arbitrage trader Owen Gunden shifted his full stack of 11,000 Bitcoin to an exchange, with his final transfer arriving only recently.
Several other long-dormant wallets also came back online and one striking example involves a Satoshi-era wallet holding 80,000 Bitcoin.
Bitcoin OG Owen Gunden seems ready to dump all of his 11K $BTC($1.12B).
8 hours ago, he moved his remaining 3,549 $BTC($361.84M) — with 600 $BTC($61.17M) already deposited to #Kraken.https://t.co/QYVHyxa0SV pic.twitter.com/wMpQvS5O9y
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) November 9, 2025
This wallet had not moved any funds for fourteen years and its recent activity drew attention because such large transfers can affect how traders think about older coins and long-term market sentiment.
These events are not a sign of market panic among these early adopters. Instead, they show that many investors who held for years are now seeing new reasons to reorganise their portfolios.
How Bitcoin Is Changing as an Asset
Observers are pointing to a steady slowdown in Bitcoin’s compound annual growth rate.
During earlier years, Bitcoin grew quickly because its price rose from low levels and because many people were discovering it for the first time. Today, many people already know what Bitcoin is and its market has grown much larger.
Changes like these tend to make growth smoother.
As of early November, Bitcoin’s four-year growth rate stands near 13%. This shows that Bitcoin is gradually settling into a role similar to a long-term store of value.
Some analysts are even describing it as a protection measure against trouble in traditional financial systems.
What Comes Next for the Wider Crypto Market
Dr Hiesboeck notes that many discussions about Bitcoin versus altcoins no longer show how the market works today. He argued that the crypto space contains many projects that serve different needs.
Some focus on financial tools. Others work toward data storage, gaming or cross-chain systems. Because of this, he says that investors tend to avoid seeing the market as a single contest.
Macro analyst Jordi Visser also added that Bitcoin may be moving into a new phase as early investors who bought years ago are now passing coins to newer traders, funds and institutions.
This change is expected to widen distribution. It could also move the market from a small group of early buyers to a much larger group of holders.