Bitcoin (BTC) has demonstrated remarkable resilience by maintaining a value above $30,000 for the past month, despite indications of market weakness. Throughout this period, miners have been actively seeking to convert their holdings into cash.
A significant boost to the broader cryptocurrency market occurred in a span of less than five hours following a favorable ruling by a US judge in the case involving Ripple and XRP on July 13. As a result, the price of Bitcoin experienced a surge to $30,800 on the same day. However, the past week has seen the price dip below the $30,000 mark on two occasions, reaching a low of $29,685 on July 17.
Data provided by CryptoQuant suggests that the consolidation around the $30,000 level may be influenced by a combination of factors, including the behavior of short-term holders (STHs), miners, and market volatility.
Over the past few months, there has been a gradual reduction in the supply of STHs, punctuated by occasional spikes during bullish periods. On the whole, STHs have been selling less, thereby potentially alleviating selling pressure on Bitcoin.
Conversely, miners have been actively offloading their newly minted Bitcoin holdings as the next halving event approaches, which is expected to occur in April 2024. This trend has coincided with a decrease in Bitcoin’s volatility over the past four months, as well as a drop in the number of Bitcoin exchange deposits to a one-month low, as reported by Glassnode.
As of the time of writing, Bitcoin is being traded at $30,020, representing a 0.8% decline over the past 24 hours. However, the trading volume has surged by nearly 70%, reaching $13.84 billion, while the market capitalization remains below $584 billion.
The surge in trading activity for Bitcoin suggests a potential temporary price increase. A report from July 17 indicates that the growing presence of long-term BTC holders could provide support for prices in upcoming trading sessions.
