BTC slumps, miner reserves fall to three-year low

The crypto market was mixed on Thursday, with Bitcoin continuing to fluctuate in a narrow range. According to Bitpush data, BTC once hit an intraday high of $66,455.50, but the bulls lost momentum again and fell to a daily low of $64,656.72 after lunch. As of press time, it returned to above $65,000 , and the 24-hour volatility was almost zero.

Altcoins also tended to flatten. In the past 24 hours, among the top 200 tokens by market capitalization, Worldcoin (WLD) led the gains, up 11.82%, followed by Fetch.AI (FET) up 11.29%, SingularityNET (AGIX), up 9.46%. zkSync (ZK) led the decline, down 9.81%, Flare (FLR) down 6.41%, and JasmyCoin (JASMY) down 5.57%.

The current overall market value of cryptocurrencies is $2.36 trillion, and Bitcoin's market share is 54.15%, which is almost unchanged from yesterday.

In the stock market, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell sharply in afternoon trading. At the close, the S&P 500 fell slightly by 0.25%, the Nasdaq fell by 0.79%, and the Dow Jones rose by 0.77%.

BTC Miner Reserves Fall to Lowest Level Since 2021

According to CryptoQuant data, Bitcoin miner reserves have fallen to their lowest level since 2021. Miner reserves show the number of bitcoins held by associated miner wallets, and the value represents the reserves that miners have not yet sold. Data shows that the current miner reserves are about 1.82 million bitcoins, and about 1.87 million bitcoins at the beginning of the year.

When miners start selling, supply increases and can potentially lead to price depreciation, depending on market demand for the token. However, CryptoQuant charts show that miner reserves have been declining since October 2023, while the price of Bitcoin has risen 150% over the same period.

In addition, CryptoQuant data also shows that the daily trading volume of Bitcoin miners' over-the-counter transactions has also increased to the highest level since the end of March.

“Be patient”

On-chain data platform Santiment said that on-chain indicators show that retail investors are "mostly fearful or uninterested in Bitcoin as prices range from $65,000 to $66,000."

Santiment published an article stating that in the current market downturn, patience will be rewarded: “This kind of FUD persistence is rare because traders continue to capitulate, and Bitcoin trader fatigue, coupled with whale accumulation, usually leads to rebounds, which is beneficial to those who are patient.”

Ready to turn the tide

Some analysts believe that BTC may have bottomed out and could be preparing for another breakout.

Caleb Franzen, founder of Cubic Analytics, said that despite the recent failure to break through resistance, Bitcoin bulls have done a good job defending key support levels and he is waiting for a break above the $66,000 level.

Max, CEO and founder of BecauseBitcoin , said on the X platform that BTC and altcoins are just repeating the trends of each previous cycle.

He said: “As BTC rushes towards its last cycle high, we usually see altcoins underperform. In the previous two cycles, altcoins fell sharply during this stage of the cycle, just like what is happening now. Take your time, but this kind of PA and fear of altcoins is common, and the current situation is no different. I will wait until new evidence emerges.”

Analyst Michaël van de Poppe believes that BTC has bottomed in the current range and expects it to move higher in the medium term.

“Bitcoin may have bottomed out between $63,000-65,000 and accumulated upward momentum. Therefore, as Bitcoin’s dominance declines and altcoins start to show stronger strength, a reversal is imminent,” he wrote in the X post.