Bitcoin long-term holders stay put despite 47% rally

Bitcoin has surged more than 47% from its recent lows, hitting a new all-time high in May as holding patterns show strong accumulation.

Unlike in past market cycles, long-term holders are not in a hurry to sell. On-chain data reveals a notable lack of aggressive selling despite substantial profit potential, indicating strong conviction among long-term investors and little structural drag on the uptrend.

Real Vision analyst Jamie Coutts stated in a May 28 X post that the LTH-SOPR (Spent Output Profit Ratio) indicator is one of the most obvious indicators of this resilience. Although this metric peaked at 17 in 2017, 8 in 2021, and 4.3 in early 2024, it is currently only at 2.1.

This shows that LTHs are realizing fewer profits than they did during previous bull runs, even with Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent surge. Although there will inevitably be some re-distribution in response to rising prices, Coutts stressed that the current muted activity indicates long-term confidence is still strong.

This view is supported by Glassnode data. Accumulation patterns can be seen in almost every wallet type. Alongside larger cohorts such as those with 100–1,000 BTC and 1,000–10,000 BTC, wallets with less than 1 BTC have also returned to accumulation mode. The only group that still exhibits net selling behavior is the 1–10 BTC group.

Further, profit-taking during Bitcoin’s latest breakout has been surprisingly restrained. Glassnode noted that when BTC surpassed $100,000 last December, realized profit volumes exceeded $2.1 billion. In contrast, the most recent rally to a new high saw just $1 billion in realized profits, despite higher prices. 

Additionally, coin age data demonstrates that older coins are still mostly inactive. Just 13.4% of active supply is older than six months as of May 2025, down from 24.7% in December 2024. This decline indicates that while newer participants provide short-term momentum, older holders are likely sitting tight.

The bullish outlook is supported by institutional interest. Over $5.3 billion has been invested in spot Bitcoin ETFs in the last month, as per SoSoValue data, and U.S.-listed funds currently oversee over $40 billion in total assets. Meanwhile, corporate accumulation keeps growing. 

Last week, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) increased its holdings to 576,230 BTC by purchasing an additional 7,390 BTC. The Japanese company Metaplanet has also boosted its holdings to more than 7, 000 BTC. Over 30,000 BTC is now being acquired each month by public companies collectively.