Bitcoin fell below the $77,000 mark and at one point was trading at $76,901 after a sharp hourly crash that hit the entire crypto market.
In just one hour, the market was hit by a wave of liquidations totaling about $600 million. According to Coinglass, traders with leverage were massively forced out of positions as the market quickly moved into the red zone.
Pressure was also evident in US spot BTC—ETF. Last week, about 13,000 BTC were withdrawn from funds. More than 4,000 BTC were withdrawn from funds related to Ark. This happened even before the new market decline and showed that interest in BTC—ETF began to cool in advance.
Long-Term Holders Continue to Accumulate Bitcoin
At the same time, large holders continue to withdraw bitcoin from exchanges. According to CryptoQuant, at the beginning of the year, outflows of BTC from trading platforms remained high.
Such movements are usually associated with accumulation. When coins leave exchanges, it often indicates a move to cold storage rather than preparation for sale.
Net BTC outflows from exchanges remain high. Source: CryptoQuant
The volume of bitcoins held by long-term holders (LTH) has risen to about 15.26 million BTC, the highest level since August 2025.
Analyst CryptoQuant under the nickname Darkfost wrote that over the past 30 days, such wallets have increased by about 316,000 BTC. For comparison, at the end of November, the volume for this category of holders, on the contrary, decreased by about 650,000 BTC per month.
It seems that some investors who entered bitcoin about six months ago are now simply continuing to hold coins and are already moving into the long-term holder category.
Darkfost wrote:
“The volume of BTC held by long-term holders continues to grow as investors are not selling their coins. This category now holds 15.26 million BTC, and such market participants are generally considered much more stable than short-term holders.”
Darkfost also noted another date that many traders are now watching. This is about 800,000 BTC that were withdrawn from Coinbase last year. On May 23, these coins will reach six months of holding. After that, these coins will officially move into the long-term holder category. This could further increase the overall LTH figure even without new purchases.
Many are now awaiting the release of the FOMC minutes, which are due on May 20. There will be details of the last Fed meeting under Jerome Powell.
See Also: Canton Network Developer Prepares $300 Million Funding Round
Meanwhile, Michael Saylor has once again fueled speculation about a possible bitcoin purchase by Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR).
Previously, Saylor had already published similar charts shortly before Strategy announced new bitcoin purchases. That is why traders are once again closely monitoring his posts.
If the company does buy BTC this week, its reserves will exceed the current 818,869 BTC.
At the current rate, the value of bitcoins on Strategy‘s balance sheet is estimated at nearly $67 billion.
Saylor fueled rumors of a new BTC purchase. Source: Michael Saylor/X
Last week, Strategy called on retail investors to vote for changes related to STRC, the perpetual preferred shares Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock.
The company’s official X account asked holders to support a proposal that would allow dividends on STRC to be paid twice a month instead of once.
As previously reported, Strategy believes that this payment format will reduce the time between dividend reinvestments, improve trading liquidity, and help STRC stay closer to the target price of $100.
At the same time, the company emphasized that the annual dividend rate will remain the same if investors approve the changes.
