Despite significant profits and price volatility, Bitcoin investors who bought into the cryptocurrency in 2020 or later are holding steady, waiting for prices to climb even higher, according to recent research findings. This insight came from onchain analytics firm, Glassnode, which noted that even a $110,000 price tag was not enticing enough for most hodlers to sell.
Interestingly, Bitcoin investors who joined the market between three to five years ago are persistently maintaining their holdings, regardless of considerable Bitcoin price appreciation. Glassnode pointed out that these investors, who bought in when prices were between the 2020 lows of $3,600 and the 2021 highs of $69,000, are still deeply entrenched in hodling. Despite a 3% decline since the November 2024 peak in wealth held by investors who bought Bitcoin 3-5 years ago, figures remain at historically high levels.
The analytics firm leveraged the Realized Cap HODL Waves metric, which breakdowns the Bitcoin supply based on the last on-chain movement for each coin. Through this, they were able to differentiate the 2020-22 buyers from those who invested prior. Conversely, it was revealed that over two-thirds of those who bought Bitcoin 5-7 years ago have liquidated their positions by the December 2024 peak.
Rather intriguingly, newer buyers, otherwise known as short-term holders (STHs), who are more speculative, have shown to be more sensitive to recent Bitcoin price volatility resulting in periodic episodes of panic selling. Nonetheless, Glassnode reported that the current STH interaction does not suggest a speculative frenzy, which is typically associated with previous Bitcoin price cycle peaks. As it stands, STHs currently hold around 40% of Bitcoin’s network wealth, which peaks notably below previous cycle tops where new investor wealth surged at 70–90%, this implies a so far more restrained and distributed bull market.