Undoubtedly, Bitcoin has seen significant growth over the past years both in market price and as a network, solidifying its reputation as a considerable financial haven.
Adding more credibility to this fact, a CryptoQuant analyst known as Gaah recently highlighted a notable trend: a large volume of Bitcoin—roughly 1 million BTC—has been withdrawn from crypto exchanges over the past three years.
This trend reflects not only the increasing recognition of Bitcoin as a financial asset but also a notable shift in investor behavior. It also suggests a changing dynamic in how market participants view and use the asset in recent years.
What It Means For The BTC Market
Gaah’s analysis points to a clear trend: approximately one million BTC have been withdrawn from exchanges over the past three years. This pattern reflects a growing preference among investors to hold Bitcoin off-exchange, a strategy that often signals long-term confidence in the asset’s value. Gaah wrote:
This trend reflects both the growing global adoption of the asset as a store of value and a strategy against market volatility, using the asset itself as a margin in hedge operations.
Gaah also highlighted that the trend first gained attention in November 2022, when significant outflows coincided with a period of market weakness. Investors appeared to be accumulating Bitcoin in anticipation of a notable recovery.
1 million Bitcoin withdrawn from exchanges in the last 3 years
“The withdrawal of BTC from exchanges reduces liquidity and, consequently, selling pressure, which can support the price in short-term realizations.” – By @gaah_im
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https://t.co/sZHbF3r36m pic.twitter.com/DfFm4YtGWj
— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) January 20, 2025
Now, two years later, a similar wave of withdrawals is occurring, but this time against the backdrop of Bitcoin trading near historic highs. Gaah noted:
This contrast between accumulation during a bearish period and withdrawal after strong rises reveals the different market dynamics impacted by changes in behavior since the market matured.
It is worth noting that by reducing liquidity on exchanges, these withdrawals can also decrease selling pressure, providing support for Bitcoin’s price during market corrections. However, the analyst mentioned:
With fewer BTC available for trading, the market is preparing for new, more volatile price movements.
Bitcoin Market Performance
Meanwhile, BTC has so far been on a rollercoaster ride since the year began. After initially beginning the year with an increase, BTC was quick to face correction which left investors in despair.
However, as of today, the asset is now back in a bullish action. In the early hours of Monday, Bitcoin saw a notable surge renewing its all-time high after a breach above $109,000.
This has caused the asset’s weekly performance to enter a double-digit gain. However, at the time of writing, there has been a slight retracement with BTC now trading at $104,782, marking a 0.1% decrease in the past day.
Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingVIew
