The quantity of Bitcoin stored on centralized exchanges has decreased to a six-year low as the asset achieved a new all-time high.
On Sunday morning, Bitcoin recorded a new all-time high, surpassing $125,700 on Coinbase, according to Tradingview.
The previous peak was $124,500 on Coinbase on August 14. Bitcoin (BTC) saw a 13.5% decline by September 1 but has rebounded strongly in the past week as ‘Uptober’ commenced.
“Bitcoin reaches a new all-time high … Yet many remain unaware of what Bitcoin is,” commented Nate Geraci, President of Nova Dius.
“If Bitcoin can convincingly breach $126,500, it could quickly climb much higher,” noted analyst Rekt Capital on Saturday, prior to the latest price surge.
Exchange balances hit a six-year low
The total Bitcoin balance on centralized exchanges has dropped to a six-year low of 2.83 million BTC as of Saturday, according to Glassnode.
The last instance of fewer coins being stored on exchanges was early June 2019, when Bitcoin traded around $8,000 during a bear market.
Blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant reports a slightly lower total exchange reserve figure of 2.45 million BTC, marking a seven-year low.
Both platforms indicate that the BTC exchange balance has decreased significantly over the last few weeks. Over 114,000 BTC worth more than $14 billion has exited exchanges in the past fortnight, according to Glassnode.
When Bitcoin is transferred from centralized exchanges to self-custody, institutional portfolios, or digital asset reserves, it implies that holders intend to keep their assets for the long term instead of selling. Bitcoin on exchanges is viewed as “available supply” that could be sold and flood the market at any time.
Exchanges running low
“I’m hearing that exchanges are running out of Bitcoin,” stated Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, on Saturday.
“Monday at 9:30 am could mark the first official shortage,” he added, “Not financial advice… just: it might be wise to consider acquiring some.”
Investor and trader Mike Alfred mentioned on Sunday morning that “I just finished a 20-minute conversation with the leader of the most significant OTC desk.”
“He claims at the current pace, they will be completely out of Bitcoin to sell within two hours of futures opening tomorrow unless the price rises to $126,000 to $129,000. Things are getting intense.”
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