Bitcoin Breaks $45,000 Mark as Miner Selling Pressure Eases
Bitcoin (BTC) surged past the $45,000 mark on Thursday, indicating a reduction in miner selling pressure, according to on-chain data. CryptoQuant’s charts reveal that major publicly traded US bitcoin mining companies have been steadily increasing their bitcoin holdings. Marathon Digital, for example, has seen a consistent rise in its bitcoin reserves over the past few months.
Reduction in Bitcoin Selling Pressure
CryptoQuant’s weekly report states that mining selling pressure has decreased after a period of high sales in November and December 2023. Daily selling by miners has dropped from over 800 bitcoins per day to below 300 bitcoins per day so far in 2024. Despite declining profits from bitcoin network fees, miners are holding onto their reserves.
The decline in fees is attributed to lower network activity resulting from fewer transactions from registrations and BRC20 token mints.
The number of transactions on the bitcoin network has also declined significantly, from a daily all-time high of 731,000 in late December to a current three-month low of 278,000.
Spike in Liquidations due to Bitcoin Upswings
The recent rally above $45,000 has caused the liquidation of over $114 million in leveraged cryptocurrency positions. According to Coinglass data, more than $49 million worth of bitcoin leveraged positions were liquidated, with the majority being shorts.
The price surge resulted in Bitcoin’s market capitalization increasing by over 4% in the past 24 hours to reach $45,133.
Hot Take: Bitcoin Shows Resilience as Miners HODL despite Declining Fees
Bitcoin’s ability to break through the $45,000 mark and sustain its value demonstrates its resilience in the face of declining miner selling pressure and network activity. Despite a significant decrease in profits from network fees, miners are holding onto their reserves, indicating their long-term confidence in Bitcoin’s future prospects. The recent spike in liquidations highlights the volatility of the cryptocurrency market but also signals increased investor interest and potential for further price growth.