Bitcoin's long-term holder supply approaches record high, breaking multi-year downtrend

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Bitcoin's long-term holder supply approaches record high, breaking multi-year downtrend Long-term holder supply has surged by more than 2 million coins to 16.3 million BTC during the current bear market. By James Van Straten | Edited by Stephen Alpher May 21, 2026, 1:23 p.m. 1 min read Make preferred on Long/Short Term Holder Supply (CheckonChain) What to know : Long-term holder supply has increased by more than 2 million BTC during the current bear market, including a 200,000 BTC rise in the past month alone. This is typical behavior — long-term holders tends to buy into price weakness and sell into price strength. Bitcoin's long-term holder (LTH) supply is approaching all-time highs. Currently, 16.3 million BTC is held by this cohort, defined as investors who have held bitcoin for at least 155 days. LTH supply has increased from 14.12 million BTC around the time of bitcoin's record high above $126,000 in October, to the current 16.3 million BTC. In the past month alone, LTH supply has risen by roughly 200,000 BTC. The only other time LTH supply was higher was in January 2024, when it reached 16.4 million BTC ahead of the U.S. spot bitcoin ETF launch, one of the most anticipated events in bitcoin’s history. In the months that followed, nearly 2 million BTC was distributed by this cohort as bitcoin rallied. Typically, during periods of price weakness or full bear market conditions, long-term holders, often viewed as the smarter money, begin increasing exposure after divesting during the previous bull market. During both the 2015 and 2019 bear markets, LTH supply increased as investors accumulated during price weakness. However, since the ETF launch in January 2024, LTH supply has largely fluctuated between 14 million and 16 million BTC. Now, it appears to have broken out of a 2.5-year downtrend, suggesting long-term holders are once again accumulating rather than distributing during bitcoin’s depressed price levels. Bitcoin News More For You The $6 billion expiration countdown: Traders pile into $82,000 bitcoin calls ahead of May 29 expiry By James Van Straten | Edited by Jamie Crawley 2 hours ago Deribit’s bitcoin open interest has overtaken BlackRock’s IBIT as traders brace for a showdown between $75K max pain and $80K call positioning. What to know : A total of 80,535 contracts worth $6.25 billion are set to settle on Deribit on May 29. The $75,000 strike holds the largest put concentration at $394 million in notional value, while the $80,000 call strike dominates on the upside with $532 million. The put/call ratio of 0.86 reflects a... Read full story Latest Crypto News CoinDesk 20 performance update: Internet Computer drops 1.6%, leading index lower 7 minutes ago Stablecoins retain the edge over tokenized money market funds, JPMorgan says 34 minutes ago It's not all HYPE: Privacy and quantum-resistant coins advance as bitcoin marks time 2 hours ago The $6 billion expiration countdown: Traders pile into $82,000 bitcoin calls ahead of May 29 expiry 2 hours ago HYPE leads crypto rebound as traders position for volatility breakout 2 hours ago A crypto whale has made a $224,000 bet that XRP's price stays perfectly flat through June 3 hours ago Top Stories Binance launches SpaceX pre-IPO perps amid $2 trillion valuation bets 6 hours ago Don't call us just a WLFI treasury company, says AI Financial 8 hours ago Crypto custody firm Copper is looking to sell the company for $500 million 20 hours ago Elon Musk's SpaceX held 18,712 bitcoin at fair value of $1.29 billion at end of Q1, IPO filing shows 15 hours ago Polymarket moves to list parlays while SEC seeks public input on prediction market ETFs 14 hours ago