An unusual movement of long-term holdings has been observed in the Bitcoin market in 2025. Large Bitcoin wallets that had been dormant for over a decade are becoming active one after another, drawing market attention.
The most notable case occurred in July of this year, when 80,000 Bitcoins, worth approximately $900 million (approximately 12 trillion won) at the time, were transferred from a wallet that had been dormant for approximately 14 years. The transaction was reportedly processed by an institutional trading desk, and Galaxy Digital attributed it to an early investor in Satoshi Nakamoto's time. However, it remains unclear whether the entire amount was sold on the open market.
Market analysts suggest that since Bitcoin surpassed $100,000 for the first time in December of last year, long-term holders have been gradually taking profits. "By 2025, the Bitcoin market has entered a phase of redistribution, with long-term holdings gradually being released into circulation," said JA Martún, an analyst at CryptoQuant. "We are observing multiple asset movements."
Despite these large-scale asset movements, it's also noteworthy that market volatility remained limited. This is because Bitcoin holdings, including Strategy, and institutional investors like BlackRock, appear to have absorbed a significant portion of the liquidity. Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, commented, "The large-scale movement of long-term holdings did not lead to short-term price shocks."
On-chain analysis reveals that over the past three months, some institutional investors have net purchased approximately 600,000 BTC, increasing their circulating supply. This amount represents several months of mining activity. Bitcoin-related products operated by BlackRock and Grayscale are also gradually increasing their share of the total supply.
CryptoQuant CEO Ki-young Joo analyzed, "In the past, whale selling was often interpreted as a signal of the end of a bull market, but the market structure is changing with the emergence of new demand sources such as ETFs and institutional funds."
Bitcoin, which rose to around $126,000 in early October, has undergone a correction and is currently trading in the $87,000 range. Experts believe that this shift in long-term holdings should be viewed as a gradual diversification of participants in the Bitcoin market, rather than an immediate market trend.
