Miners go from sellers to hodlers again as the worst of June’s capitulation phase seems to pass.
Bitcoin (BTC) miners now own more BTC than at any time since 2020 as the impact of the past months’ turbulence wears off.
According to data from on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant, miners’ BTC holdings increased dramatically in July.
Miners keep stacking sats
In the latest sign of miners recovering from recent price weakness, the amount of BTC in their wallets has hit a fresh multi-year high.
As originally noted by CryptoQuant contributor and analyst Jan Wuestenfeld, their combined balance totaled 1,865,272 BTC as of July 29. The start of August saw a slight decline, with the total as of Aug. 3 being 1,864,842 BTC.
Between July 6, when reserves hit a local low, and the July 29 peak, miners’ wallet balance increased by 0.37%, or 6,885 BTC.
Bitcoin miner reserve chart. Source: CryptoQuant
Miners struggled as BTC/USD fell to its lowest since December 2020, subsequently recovering around 38% from a $17,600 floor.
Their problems were clearly visible in network fundamentals, with both hash rate and difficulty declining to reflect decreasing miner participation.
As Cointelegraph reported, the difficulty will see its first increase in months this week, while Wuestenfeld notes that hash rate has yet to stage a noticeable comeback.
Bitcoin network fundamentals overview (screenshot). Source: BTC.com
Exchanges sales back under 1,000 BTC per day
Other metrics are also pointing to light at the end of the tunnel for miners. Last week, numbers suggested that miners’ “capitulation” phase could be over as soon as August should price action continue to stabilize higher.
Related: Will the Bitcoin mining industry collapse? Analysts explain why crisis is really opportunity
Last week, numbers suggested that miners’ “capitulation” phase could be over as soon as August should price action continue to stabilize higher.
According to CryptoQuant, since the June events, miners have sent a maximum of 927 BTC to exchanges in a day.
Bitcoin miner exchange inflows chart. Source: CryptoQuant
On Aug. 2, the latest full day for which data is available, the inflows from miners to exchange wallets totaled just 359 BTC.
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