Long-term investors are increasingly stacking up on Bitcoin (BTC), driving a surge in market illiquidity, data from blockchain analytics firm Glassnode shows.

Market illiquidity occurs when an asset becomes scarce due to high demand from investors who prefer to hold rather than trade frequently.

Glassnode’s long-term net position change metric shows HODLers or wallets with a history of holding coins for at least 155 days have been stockpiling 50,000 BTC, or approximately $1.35 billion in current exchange rates, per month. This trend contributed to the total number of BTC held by long-term investors reaching a new all-time high of 14.859 million BTC. Notably, that number represents 76% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply.

“Over +50k BTC per month are currently being Vaulted by HODLers, suggesting both a tightening supply and a widespread reluctance to transact,” Glassnode said in the latest weekly report. The blockchain analytics firm added that the market is witnessing a sustained regime of coin dormancy.

In the world of cryptocurrencies, this suggests a relative weakness of supply-side pressure in the market and the potential for an exaggerated price rally.

BTC to hit $750K to $1M by 2026, BitMEX co-founder says

BitMEX co-founder and former chief executive Arthur Hayes made a bold case for Bitcoin during an appearance on Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu, projecting that the price of the leading cryptocurrency could reach $750,000 to $1 million by 2026. He expects BTC to continue:

“Chopping around $25,000 to $30,000 this year as we get to some sort of financial disturbance and people recognize that real rates are negative. If the economy is growing at a nominal rate of 10%, but I’m only getting 5% or 6%, even though it’s high, people on the margin are going to start buying other stuff, crypto being one of those things.”

Hayes explained that the eventual approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States, Europe, and Hong Kong, paired with the halving event, could push the price to a new all-time high at $70,000 in June or July of 2024.

Regaining the all-time high by the end of 2024 is when the “real fun starts and the real bull market starts,” and Bitcoin enters the “750,0000 to $1 million on the upside,” he added.