Even though Bitcoin’s price took a hit after the latest inflation numbers came in, there are some clear trends in the crypto market that are painting a different picture. One of the big takeaways is that the investor base seems to be sticking around this time, as evidenced by the slowing volume of Bitcoin being sent to the sacrifice address by short-term holders. We’re also seeing some accumulation happening among the BTC whales, with a dip being perceived as a buying opportunity more and more. These are the trends we’re observing, and we’re trying to decode what they might mean for Bitcoin’s price performance and for the investor base as a whole in February 2025. Short-Term Holders Show Resilience Amid Price Volatility In the last few weeks, Bitcoin’s price saw a slight decline following an unsatisfactory inflation figure, making some investors worry. But in the midst of this, short-term holders of Bitcoin (those who have held their coins for less than 155 days) have been in less of a rush to spend their Bitcoin at a loss. On a seven-day simple moving average, the peak amount of Bitcoin spent in loss by these short-term holders happened in early February, when around 5,500 BTC was spent in loss. But since then, this amount has decreased to about 3,800 BTC—close to the near-average amount of 3,500 BTC that we’ve seen so far this year. Despite yesterday’s price dip on the inflation print, the volume of #BTC spent in loss by short-term holders (STH) is slowing. The 7-day SMA peaked at ~5.5K $BTC in early February but has now declined to ~3.8K #BTC , close to yearly averages (~3.5K $BTC ): https://t.co/OmWy5Yz4uY pic.twitter.com/dpFJNi9qSs — glassnode (@glassnode) February 13, 2025 The decrease seen in the spent volume of Bitcoin being sold at a loss by short-term holders indicates that market participants are showing less distress than in previous market sell-offs. To give a sense of the scale, the peak of spent Bitcoin in loss by short-term holders reached 7,500 BTC back in August 2024. That was a significant amount compared to what we are seeing today. This reduction in sell-offs could signal that many short-term holders are adopting a more patient approach and are less inclined to panic sell in response to market volatility. Confident in Bitcoin’s long-term potential, despite short-term ups and downs? Holders are holding. And that means, it seems, ever fewer Bitcoins are available. We know this: Even if a price-supporting torrential rain of new demand doesn’t happen, a still-accelerating HODL (Hold On for Dear Life) community—along with (we’re told) some increasingly mainstream financial actors—could well be the supply-side story that leads to fresh price increases in the not-so-distant future. Long-Term Holders Continue to Weather Volatility Counter to the actions of short-term holders, long-term holders (LTHs) have almost entirely escaped the prevailing storm of Bitcoin’s price volatility. The amount of Bitcoin spent in loss by these long-term holders is so low it’s hard to see them making any sort of market impact—especially when you consider that, over the last year, they have averaged well under 500 BTC spent per week and have not crossed that threshold even once in 2025, according to the latest data. Oh, and LTHs, in general, are set to post a 0.01 BTC spent-at-a-loss figure that would, if it were a Sunday, see the papers proclaiming “Quiet Day for Long-Term HODLers!” What this demonstrates is that holders who have had Bitcoin for a long time are not selling it off as prices dip. They clearly have a focus on the long-term value proposition of Bitcoin as a digital store of value that they maintain is more resilient to market volatility than the value of traditional assets. Their focus on Bitcoin’s long-term resilience as a value prop is not unlike the long-term thinking that many institutional investors practice. Whale Activity: A Strong Signal for Bitcoin’s Future A recent development of great significance in the market occurred on February 5. This was when the Bitcoin whales accumulated almost $3.8 billion worth of Bitcoin during the recent price dip. That day saw a net inflow of about 40,000 BTC, meaning that large amounts of Bitcoin were moved into online storage, or “wallets,” operated by the people or entities that own these Bitcoin. The people behind these 40,000 BTC probably aren’t planning to sell anytime soon—that’s what makes them “whales.” #Bitcoin whales accumulated nearly $3.8B in $BTC during the recent dip, with a net inflow of ~40K BTC recorded on Feb 5. pic.twitter.com/f1Xp5VyaNY — Farhat HN (@farhat_hn) February 13, 2025 A huge whale has made the market take notice by moving 1,100 BTC—now valued at around $106.4 million—to Binance. Between March and December of 2024, this cetacean-sized investor accumulated 5,700 BTC, buying it at an average price of $81,418. Now, with Bitcoin’s price up to around $96,800, this BTC holder has a position worth about $444.6 million—good for an estimated profit of $86.9 million. That translates to roughly an 18.7% gain in less than a year. A giant whale moved 1,100 $BTC ($106.4M) to #Binance ~20 minutes ago. Between March and December 2024, this whale accumulated 5,700 $BTC from Binance at an average price of $81,418. Now, at the current price of ~$96.8K, the whale holds 4,598 $BTC ($444.6M) with an est. total… pic.twitter.com/pe6PljQdk3 — Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) February 13, 2025 The accumulation trend seen among Bitcoin whales indicates that interest in the cryptocurrency from institutions remains high. Even though the price of Bitcoin didn’t stop to flirt with the $16,000 mark, large investors continued to amass the digital asset. As “Bitcoin whales,” or those large holders (and accumulators) of the coin, keep it off exchanges, they seem to be nodding in the direction of potential price resiliency. Bitcoin ETF Outflows Show Diverging Sentiment Even with the accumulation activity from whales, there’s been a clear outflow of Bitcoin from spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). As of February 12, Bitcoin ETFs had a net outflow amounting to $251 million. The two largest funds, FBTC and ARKB, contributed significantly to this net outflow: FBTC’s outflow was around $101 million, and ARKB’s was close to $97.03 million. Altogether, this paints a picture in which some institutional investors might be “de-risking” and reassessing their near-term exposure to Bitcoin. On February 12, the total net outflow of Bitcoin spot ETFs was US$251 million, with FBTC and ARKB having outflows of US$101 million and US$97.03 million respectively; the total net outflow of Ethereum spot ETFs was US$40.948 million, and the Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF ETHE had… — Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) February 13, 2025 The outflows from ETFs indicate differing opinions within the institutional investor community. While some large investors are taking this opportunity to buy more Bitcoin at lower prices, others are pulling back. Their reasons for doing so are not entirely clear, but it seems likely that concerns over short-term volatility and a possible reassessment of Bitcoin’s place in their portfolios are driving some of that pullback. Conclusion Bitcoin’s market behavior in early 2025 reflects a complex and evolving landscape. Short-term holders seem less distressed during sell-offs and by the fluctuating price. Long-term holders remain mostly unaffected by the price movements. Meanwhile, whales show nothing but accumulation behavior. They continue to pool big sums of Bitcoin. While some big institutions have backed away from Bitcoin ETFs, there are signs that the institutional interest for Bitcoin as a dip-buying opportunity is on the rise. And despite some noticeable volatility in the price, the overall trend seems clearly upwards. Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services. 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