Bitcoin miners have been offloading again as reserves slump to a yearly low, dropping more than 10,000 BTC in a single day.Bitcoin BTC $42,745 miners sold more than 10,000 Bitcoin in a single day on Jan. 17, registering the largest daily decline in miner reserves in over a year.

According to data from on-chain analytics provider CryptoQuant, Bitcoin miner reserves declined by 10,233 BTC on Jan. 17, which is roughly $450 million at current prices.

Miners typically go through phases of accumulation and selling. According to a 2023 Bitfinex report, miners began accumulating Bitcoin around mid-2023 when prices and profitability were lower.

When prices and profitability increase, such as in recent months, miners switch to a selling phase. Historically, miners sell coins to replenish cash flow or capture higher prices in a rally. The price of Bitcoin has been in the $42,000 to $43,000 range over the past few days.

The data also shows that Bitcoin miner reserves are at their lowest levels since July 2021 at 1.83 million coins. However, this is still a substantial stash valued at approximately $78 billion.
Over the past 12 months, BTC miner reserves have declined by 22,800 BTC, but the total reserve figure has been relatively stable since early 2021.

On Jan. 15, the Bitcoin Miners’ Position Index (MPI) started to tick up, indicating that possible selling was imminent, according to CryptoQuant.

The MPI is the ratio of total miner outflow to its one-year moving average of total miner outflow.

Source - Coin Telegraph