Long-term Bitcoin holders accumulated nearly 4 million BTC in the fastest high-conviction buying surge since 2020.
Bitcoin News
Long-term Bitcoin (BTC) holders, classified as conviction buyers, have accumulated nearly 4 million Bitcoin since the end of 2025, according to BitGo data cited by Bitfinex on May 13. At BTC’s current price near $80,000, that supply is valued at approximately $320 billion.
Bitfinex described the pace of accumulation as the fastest two-quarter build-up in high-conviction Bitcoin buying recorded since the COVID-19 market crash of 2020. Conviction buyers are defined as long-term holders, whether individuals or institutions, that acquire and retain Bitcoin with minimal trading activity regardless of price swings.
Supply Leaving Exchanges at a Structural Level
A growing share of Bitcoin's realized value is moving away from crypto exchanges and into low-activity entities. Bitfinex analysts noted that this shift effectively reduces liquid supply on open markets, which can create conditions for a potential supply shock if demand rises sharply.
Strategy (MSTR), the largest publicly traded corporate Bitcoin holder, is a prominent driver of this accumulation trend. The company recently raised its total Bitcoin holdings to 818,869 BTC, purchased for approximately $62 billion in total, and is currently carrying $4.6 billion in unrealized gains.
Mati Greenspan, market analyst and founder of Quantum Economics, said the pattern carries historical significance, while noting some data limitations. "Historically, periods of tightening liquid supply combined with renewed demand have created the conditions for Bitcoin's most aggressive upside expansions," he said, adding that the exact methodology behind BitGo's conviction buyer metric is not immediately clear.
Research from CEX.IO found that nearly 70% of recent Bitcoin buyers are currently holding positions in profit. CEX.IO analysts said investors in profitable positions tend to be less reactive to minor price dips, which can reduce selling pressure and help stabilize price floors.
Borrowing Options Changing Holder Behavior
Ran Hammer, vice president of Business Development at Orbs, told CoinDesk on May 13 that borrowing tools are changing how long-term holders manage Bitcoin positions. "People who actually get Bitcoin always want to accumulate as much as possible and never want to sell, particularly now with all the new existing ways to borrow against BTC holdings," he said. "That changes the supply equation entirely, with more BTC structurally removed from the market."
Connor Howe, CEO and co-founder at Enso, said in a separate comment that Bitcoin's scarcity story is becoming measurable. "With ETF flows and institutional accumulation becoming more structural than speculative, a larger share of supply is moving into conviction hands," he said, adding that this "could make future scarcity far more visible when demand accelerates." Core Bitcoin developer Jameson Lopp noted that the 4 million Bitcoin held by conviction buyers is separate from an estimated 5.6 million Bitcoin that has been inactive for over a decade, out of a total circulating supply of 20.03 million Bitcoin.
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