Bitcoin (BTC) illiquid supply hits all-time highs as whales accumulate during price returns to six figures

Bitcoin has seen its largest 30-day illiquid supply increase of the current bull market. Illiquid supply now stands at 14 million BTC, more than ever before.

Key Points

Illiquid BTC supply has hit a new all-time high of 14 million BTC.

The 30-day rolling increase in illiquid supply is now at its largest point of the current bull market.

As the price returns to six figures, whales are still accumulating.

Bitcoin (BTC) investors are rendering BTC supply less liquid than at any point in its 90-plus years of existence.

Data from onchain analytics platform Glassnode shows that Bitcoin’s “illiquid supply” has reached a record 14 million BTC.

Bitcoin illiquid supply returns to all-time highs

Bitcoin is increasingly falling into the hands of entities that do not sell what they acquire.

Glassnode, which charts the portion of the BTC supply owned by so-called “illiquid entities,” reveals that this has reached levels not seen during the current bull market.

An entity is considered illiquid if the ratio between its cumulative BTC inflows and outflows is below a certain value.

“This ratio yields a number L between zero and one, with larger values indicating higher liquidity,” it explained in a dedicated guide.

Illiquid supply stood at just over 14 million BTC this week, with the 30-day rolling increase coming in at 180,000 BTC, its largest jump since December 2022.

At the time, the previous bear market was coming to an end, with BTC/USD declining 77% to hit long-term lows of just above $15,000 in the process.

Chart of illiquid Bitcoin supply in 30-day rolling amounts and total supply in USD. Source: Glassnode

As Cointelegraph continues to report, this bull cycle stands out in terms of investment trends thanks to increasing institutional participation.

Corporate treasuries, such as that of business intelligence firm Strategy, have combined with the US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to make Bitcoin a mainstream investment target.

Onchain data likewise shows that Bitcoin whales have been accumulating throughout the recent BTC price rebound. Only retail investors appear to be panicking.

“Bitcoin’s key whale & shark tier (holding 10-10K BTC) have now accumulated 83,105 more BTC in the past 30 days,” research firm Santiment reported in an X post this week.