After briefly taking on a structure suggesting an imminent recuperation from the October 10 market downturn, the Bitcoin price appears to be heading into the weekend with a clear bearish outlook. According to data from recent on-chain analysis, the world’s largest cryptocurrency still faces an even higher risk of increased bearish pressure, which may lead to a deeper correction over the next few weeks.
In an October 17 post on the social media platform X, pseudonymous on-chain analyst Darkfost revealed a shift in the behavior of market participants within Bitcoin’s oldest investor class.
In the post on X, the analyst referenced results from the Binance Exchange Inflow — Spent Output Age Bands metric, which tracks the amount of Bitcoin sent to Binance, and the age of these coins being sent out. In this case, transactions from the long-term holders (based on their age) were tracked.
Darkfost explained that the 7-day Moving Average (MA) of these BTC inflows on Binance has seen a rise to 40 BTC per day within just a short period of time. What’s more interesting is that the 7-day MA jumped from around 4 BTC per day to this local high.
When compared to previous levels, a sudden rise to about 40 Bitcoins per day could be significant news for the world’s leading cryptocurrency.
Because Bitcoin’s long-term holders hold more than 80 percent of its total supply, their actions across exchanges tend to heavily affect price volatility. Darkfost further explained how recent LTH activity could affect market dynamics.
Backed by historical occurrences, the analyst made it clear that increasing inflows of BTC to Binance also point to a potential increase in selling pressure; this is because transfers to exchanges are often associated with selling activity, as they act as mediums for quick sell-offs or profit-taking.
When long-term holders begin moving their holdings to exchanges, they are known to move them in large quantities, and evidently not without intent. Interestingly, the surge in Binance inflows preceded LTH profit taking — an event which ignited the most recent crash seen by the Bitcoin market, and the simultaneous reintegration into market supply of “ancient BTC.”
From the chart shared by Darkfost, the inflow levels seem to be maintaining fairly good levels. While this might be good in the short term, the analyst advised that it would be best to watch out for its upward trend. “Should it continue to accelerate, it could indicate a shift in LTH positioning and potentially mark the beginning of a short-term distribution phase,” the analyst added.
As of press time, Bitcoin is valued at approximately $107,085, reflecting an almost 2% decline in the past day.