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Bitcoin Miners Offload $129M BTC in Day, Sending Reserves to the Lowest Point Since May

A slump in miner reserves indicates potential selling pressure, according to CryptoQuant.

Updated Mar 8, 2024, 7:15 p.m. Published Dec 29, 2023, 2:13 p.m.
Alta Novella's turbine room with 40 ASIC bitcoin miners.
(Sandali Handagama/CoinDesk)

Crypto miners' bitcoin reserves slid to the lowest point since May following a spate of withdrawals this week, in a sign of mounting selling pressure as the largest cryptocurrency posts a December gain of more than 13%, data from CryptoQuant shows.

Miner reserves measure the number of coins held by the affiliated miners' wallets. The number drops as the coins are moved to crypto exchanges, possibly as a prelude to a sale.

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Miners began balancing their books in late October, with reserves entering a decline that accelerated this month. Reserves now number 1.832 million BTC being held by miners, down from October's high of 1.845 million.

Bitcoin miner reserves (CryptoQuant)
Bitcoin miner reserves (CryptoQuant)

In a post on social-media platform X, AliCharts pointed out that miners have sold 3,000 bitcoin [BTC] over the past 24 hours, equating to around $129 million. The cryptocurrency is currently trading at $42,891, down from yesterday's high of $43,710.

The net flow of bitcoin on Dec. 28 stood at minus 1,524 BTC, meaning that withdrawals exceeded new coins being minted, data shows.

Bitcoin will undergo a halving in April, which will see miner rewards slashed to 3.125 BTC per block from 6.25 BTC. Analysts predict that the halving will cause a supply shock with bitcoin potentially reaching $160,000.

Read more: Bitcoin Halving Is Coming and Only the Most Efficient Miners Will Survive

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