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Market data suggests that the amount of Bitcoin collectively held by ETFs and the BTC treasury company MicroStrategy surpasses that held by pseudonymous BTC creator Satoshi Nakamoto.
CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju highlighted this aspect of BTC supply dynamics, which has not moved its price.
In his tweet, the CryptoQuant CEO noted that Michael Saylor-led MicroStrategy has bought 711,206 BTC since January 2023 and sold only 32 BTC, removing 711,174 BTC from circulation.
Also, when Bitcoin traded near $63,000 in March 2024, spot ETFs, which launched earlier that year, absorbed 509,102 BTC while MicroStrategy added 650,706 BTC. Combined, this amounts to 1,240,808 BTC. This figure becomes even more noteworthy when placed in a broader context.
Exchanges currently hold around 2.7 million BTC in reserves. For context, Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto is said to hold more than 1 million BTC that has never been touched since the network's early days.
Putting this in context, the total Bitcoin absorbed by ETFs and MicroStrategy alone exceeds Satoshi's estimated holdings and represents nearly half of the coins currently held on exchanges.
Surprising twist emerges
Bitcoin fell below $62,000 following a selloff that saw more than $1.5 billion in leveraged crypto liquidations over 24 hours, including over $800 million in Bitcoin and $386 million in Ethereum positions.
The recent drop brings Bitcoin below the $63,000 level it traded at in March 2024 when Bitcoin ETFs and MicroStrategy accumulated more than 1.2 million BTC.
CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju noted that while more BTC than Satoshi's stack or nearly half of exchange reserves has been absorbed, Bitcoin's price is still back at the same level. Despite this, the current price action suggests unusually strong sell pressure.
Ju noted that this distribution phase feels like a massive change of hands, with Bitcoin investors' average cost basis now around $53,000.
Historically, bear markets ended only after the price fell below the realized price, he noted, but he thinks this level would be hard to revisit, given institutional inflows and MSTR barely selling any BTC.
Dan Burgin
