Bitcoin Surges Past $45,000 as Miner Selling Pressure Eases: CryptoQuant

cryptonews.com:

Bitcoin has surged over 4% in the past 24 hours, edging closer to the $45,000 threshold for the first time since mid-January. At the time of reporting, Bitcoin was trading at approximately $44,800, marking a 4.6% increase within the day and a notable 6.3% surge over the past week.

While the influx of funds into new spot bitcoin ETFs has captured considerable attention, according to CryptoQuant data, it’s the selling activity by miners that has been restraining bitcoin (BTC) prices in recent times.

Data from CryptoQuant reveals that miner reserves, representing the amount of bitcoin held in miner treasuries, have experienced net outflows since the debut of bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in mid-January. These reserves have now plummeted to their lowest level since June 2021.

Miners have notably scaled back their daily sales of Bitcoin, reducing them from over 800 BTC in late 2023 to below 300 BTC in early 2024. This strategic shift suggests a change in miners’ approach to their holdings, with major publicly traded Bitcoin mining firms in the U.S. reporting an increase in their BTC reserves despite a dip in profitability.

Despite facing a decline in profitability, the steepest in over a year, miners have opted to hold onto their assets rather than sell them. Data from CryptoQuant indicates that miners have been significantly underpaid in 2024, yet selling pressure remains subdued.

The Bitcoin network has also experienced a downturn in transactions, dropping from a daily all-time high of 731,000 in late December 2023 to a three-month low of 278,000. This decline is attributed to reduced activity in inscriptions and BRC-20 token transactions, particularly those utilizing taproot addresses, which have seen a 76%