Bitcoin price under pressure as long-term holders dump $45 billion

Bitcoin’s latest drop appears to be driven less by leverage and more by conviction fading among its oldest holders.

Bitcoin price has been under pressure over the past month, trending lower as it struggles to uphold positive momentum. At the time of writing, the crypto king is hovering around $102,000, posting a 1.37% loss on the day. 

BTC (BTC) is now down roughly 9.2% for the week, putting its price nearly 20% below its peak last month above $126,000. While the latest downturn mirrors broader weakness across the crypto market, recent data shows that a select group of investors have largely contributed to the asset’s slump.

Bitcoin price weakness deepens as spot selling replaces leverage unwinds

A Nov. 5 Bloomberg report noted that the downturn in Bitcoin price has been largely fueled by fading conviction among long-term holders, who have offloaded around 400,000 BTC, worth about $45 billion, in the past month. This wave of selling has come mainly from wallets that had held Bitcoin for six to twelve months, suggesting profit-taking after this year’s rally.

Per 10x Research head Markus Thielen, these long-time holders are exiting as new demand weakens. “People are underwater, they need to close their positions,” the report cited, adding that whales holding between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC have been trimming their exposure since mid-year.

K33 Research’s Vetle Lunde also reportedly noted that over 319,000 BTC previously inactive for months have been reactivated, much of it through real sales rather than internal transfers. This echoes the heightened liquidations across the market, with over $2 billion in crypto positions liquidated in the past 24 hours, a fraction of the $19 billion seen during October’s crash.

The wave of selling has added sustained pressure on the largest cryptocurrency, undermining efforts by institutional players to absorb excess supply. Thielen noted that the imbalance between long-term holders selling and new buyers stepping in is now shaping both sentiment and price direction.

Accumulation among whales has also slowed, with buying by wallets holding between 100 and 1,000 BTC dropping sharply, signaling weak appetite among mid-size investors. Should current market conditions persist, the analyst noted that Bitcoin could continue to consolidate or drift lower, with $85,000 as a potential downside target before any meaningful recovery.