CryptoQuant: Why the record inventory of Bitcoin hides a lull in buyers

• CryptoQuant interprets the record number of long-term Bitcoin holders as a lull in buyers
• Around 15.8 million Bitcoin were considered to be held long-term
• A high long-term inventory is usually read as a bullish signal

What’s behind the record

A high level of long-term Bitcoin holdings is usually read in the markets as a sign of conviction. The assumption behind it: Investors collect the cryptocurrency and withdraw it from active trading, thereby reducing the available supply. In healthy upward phases, falling supply and growing demand come together, which has historically supported prices.

The analysis service CryptoQuant comes to a different interpretation in an evaluation picked up by CoinDesk on May 29, 2026. According to the analysis, around 15.8 million Bitcoin were classified as long-term held at this point – a record high. However, CryptoQuant argues that this number says less about investor conviction than about market turnover. Because there are no new buyers, coins remain in the hands of existing holders for longer and gradually grow into the long-term holdings category.

Buyers are withdrawing

The core of the thesis is the observation that, according to CryptoQuant, the holdings of short-term holders have fallen by around 2.2 million Bitcoin since December. Around 900,000 Bitcoin of this amount was due to holdings on the Coinbase trading platform exceeding the threshold of 155 days from which a coin is considered to be held long-term. This reclassification is technically purely a booking process, but it illustrates the central argument: a growing proportion of Bitcoin simply no longer moves.

Demand is also losing momentum among large addresses. According to CryptoQuant, the holdings of so-called whales, i.e. addresses with 1,000 to 10,000 Bitcoin, are shrinking more quickly year-on-year than at any other time in 2026. The annual growth in the holdings of smaller large addresses with 100 to 1,000 Bitcoin, referred to as dolphins by CryptoQuant, slowed significantly after peaking at 970,000 Bitcoin in October 2025. Because this group is heavily influenced by exchange-traded funds and corporate holdings, it is considered one of the clearest indicators of institutional demand.

Other signals point in the same direction

Regardless of the on-chain view of the holder structure, there are increasing indications of declining demand. In its weekly report from May 27, 2026, the analysis service Glassnode describes weakening demand on the spot market. The Realized Profit/Loss Ratio observed by Glassnode was 1.56, below the 2 to 5 range historically associated with the early stages of sustained up markets. Glassnode sees this as a sign that the recovery is being driven more by cautious reallocation than by strong inflows of demand.

The common pattern between on-chain data and the development of institutional demand is less one of active selling pressure and more of a lack of participation. The ownership structure beneath the surface increasingly reflects investors sitting on existing positions while new buyers are absent. The decisive factor for further development will be whether fresh demand returns through spot purchases and institutional investors or whether participation continues to thin out.

Dominik Maier, editorial team at finanzen.net

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