Sales of Bitcoin (BTC) by long-term holders are decreasing, which can be interpreted as a positive sign for the price structure of this digital asset. This is stated in a report published yesterday, March 19, 2026 by the investment company VanEck.
“All holder groups have seen a month-over-month drop in remittance volumes, indicating that older coins (typically representing long-term investors and early holders) are being used less frequently,” the company said.
A decline in remittance activity among these age groups typically indicates “less distribution pressure” from experienced market participants, explains Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at VanEck.
If necessary, let us clarify that when we talk about “older investors” we do not refer to the age of the investor, but to how long Bitcoin has been immobile. It is in your wallet before being transferred. This is an indicator that You can identify whether large holders who have accumulated over many years are choosing to protect their funds or wish to liquidate them. Their position to earn profits.
In that sense, “the decline in spending by long-term holders coincided with a decline in Bitcoin’s long-term active supply from 31% to 30%.” This fact suggests that a slightly smaller percentage of BTC in circulation has been traded recently, added the company, which owns several financial products based on the digital asset.
Investor group actions
The following graph shows the month-over-month percentage change in transfer volume. All values are negative, so sales or transfer activity is confirmed. There was a sharp decline in all groups.. The average decline rate for everyone, including those who bought the coin between 10 and 1 year ago, is -40%.
Segmented data shows that investors who purchased during previous Bitcoin cycles (1-5 years) Record a -40% to -51% decrease in activity. This number is only slightly lower than the number recorded by investors who bought a decade ago, when activity fell by -56%.
on the other hand, The oldest groups show the greatest changes. For the so-called “OG” (acronym “”)original gangster«) and old whales (>10 years of age), the 56% decline is the deepest detected. As the report explains, this is a bullish signal because it means currencies that have been in storage for more than a decade are moving less than they have in the past.
However, not all segments exhibit the same inactivity. The 5-7 year old segment remains an exception, with a decrease in activity of only 11%.
Although the percentage is still decreasing, Shows that this particular group of ancient coins remains the most “restless” or more active than others.
This fact suggests the possibility of rotation or partial profit-taking by investors who entered the market in previous cycles and are looking to readjust their positions without completely abandoning their assets.
Despite this residual movement, the overall trend indicates a phase of holding digital currencies by historical holders.
Mass liquidation will occur in 2025
To understand the relevance of this trend change, we need to look at the liquidity events that occurred last year.
For example, on July 29 of that year, Galaxy Digital executed one of the largest transactions on record on behalf of a client. At the time, the company reported: Completed sale of over 80,000 BTC worth over $9 billionfor a Satoshi-era investor (i.e., he had Bitcoin before Satoshi disappeared in 2011).
Then, on November 12, 2025, on-chain data showed an increase in remittances from addresses that had been inactive for more than seven years, which was interpreted as a large sale by pioneer investors who took advantage of the price level and made large profits, as reported by CriptoNoticias.
By January 2026, things had changed. Veteran Bitcoiners stopped selling their coins en masse, marking the transition from the profit-taking stage to a new ownership stage.
There are several scenarios on the market
For VanEck, when long-term holders stop spending, the market typically enters a phase of sideways accumulation or the beginning of a bull market. It happens through supply control Move from a “weak” hand (speculator) to a “strong” hand..
From this perspective, even if there is no rebound in Bitcoin prices, analyst Siegel believes that downward pressure will be significantly reduced.
In contrast, professional trader and market analyst Willy Wu presents a different scenario. He argued that the liquidity outlook shows the market is still in the early stages of a major correction cycle.
According to their analysis, there are still several months left in Bitcoin’s decline. In this environment where opinions are divided, prudence seems to be the best measure For investors.
(Tag translation) Bitcoin (BTC)
