Almost 2 million bitcoin passed into the hands of savers in 2021

The balance of bitcoins (BTC) in the hands of long-term savers grew by almost 2 million coins during 2021. This is reflected in the most recent report from Glassnode, which closes this year.

According to data from the analysis firm, savers added 1 million 846 thousand BTC to their reserves. Total, there was an increase of 16% during this year, which closes with more than 13.3 million coins in the hands of long-term owners.

In contrast, short-term holders saw their reserves decline by more than 1.4 million coins. The fall brought these funds to just over 3 million BTC, for a total drop of 32% this 2021.

With this increase in long-term holding, currencies in the “strong” hands of those who hold them for long periods of time they accounted for almost 75% of the ‘sovereign supply’ of bitcoins in circulation. That is, 3 out of 4 BTC not deposited in exchanges but in private wallets have been saved in the long term.

This behavior suggests, in the view of Glassnode analysts, that the year 2021 can be described as one of “macro consolidation and a period of modest accumulation”, something that is often seen more frequently during bear markets. It is striking that this was the case in the year of the new all-time high. (ATH) close to 70 thousand dollars per BTC.

[Los mercados bajistas] in hindsight these are prolonged periods of redistributing coins from weaker hands to those with stronger convictions and longer term.

Glassnode

Less bitcoin on exchanges, a year of big profits

Although the decline was minimal, Glassnode’s report also reflects that there was a drop in the amount of BTC held on exchanges. In total, there is 2.5% less BTC on exchange sites compared to the beginning of this 2021 in which the net amount fell by almost 68 thousand bitcoins.

Meanwhile, with the cryptocurrency price around 78% up since the beginning of the year, more than 70% of BTC in circulation is currently in profit, with respect to the last time they were moved. This represents a slight decrease from the previous Glassnode report that we reviewed on CryptoNews.

The firm’s team considered that this was “a wild ride” for the people involved in the bitcoiner world, which in addition to market issues was marked by attacks on mining and the implementation of a long-awaited improvement in the protocol (the Taproot case).

They close their report considering that, “as is tradition, Bitcoin comes out of the year stronger and more resistant, ready to solve more blocks and create more opportunities in 2022.”

On the latter, Glassnode seems to agree with the market analyst Willy Woo, recognized for his bullish bias with the cryptocurrency. That same bias was reflected in his most recent forecast, foreseeing a first quarter of 2022 strongly for bitcoin, as we report in this medium.