Dormant Bitcoin Network Implies “Dramatic Shift” Incoming, But in Which Direction?

Nick Chong

1 year ago

2 mins read

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If you’ve followed the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency space at all over the past few years, you likely know of the term “HODL,” A misspelling of the word “hold,” HODL is a long-time meme used by industry investors who believe that BTC will appreciate over time.

According to a recent report from the Wall Street Journal, HODL is more than a meme, it’s a reality.

The outlet reported Friday that according to cryptocurrency analytics firm Flipside Crypto, 14% of the 18 million BTC outstanding were actively traded during the last week of November, a statistic down 50% from October 2018.

Also, the number of Bitcoin transactions taking place every day has fallen to “around 307,000 transactions, according to data from Blockchain.com. That is down from 370,000 in the spring.”

The trend of market inactivity these metrics shows has been corroborated by top blockchain analytics site BitInfo Charts, which recently observed that 11.58 million Bitcoin — more than 50% of all of the cryptocurrency in circulation, which is valued at over $70 billion as of the time of writing this — has not moved in over a year. This also means that less than 6.8 million BTC has changed hands in the last 12 months.

Eric Stone, the head of data science at Flipside, said the following on the high number of “dormant” Bitcoin:

“A lot of people are sitting at the moment… It can be the precursor to dramatic shifts.”

But that begs the question, where could that dramatic shift take Bitcoin?

Where Will “Dramatic Shift” Take Bitcoin?

According to a number of analysts, the impending shift will be widely positive.

Hans Hague, a senior quantitative analyst at Ikxigai, recently noted that there is a confluence of reasons why he thinks Bitcoin remains in a long-term uptrend of adoption and thus price.

Per previous reports from this outlet, the confluence includes: Deutsche Bank, the 17th largest bank in the world, recently observed that its estimates predict that the number of individuals using Bitcoin and cryptocurrency will appreciate by over 500% in the next decade; the CEO of Bakkt has just become a U.S. Senator, meaning that Bitcoin could get its own cheerleader in Washington; and the idea that BTC is entering a long-term buying zone.

Nick Chong

I am a writer who has been following Bitcoin for years now. My insights and interviews have been featured in leading publications in the industry such as LongHash and Decrypt. I own a small amount of Bitcoin.