More Bitcoin Than Ever Is Now ‘Dormant’—Here’s What That Means

Over 53% of coins ever minted haven’t budged for more than two years, new data shows.

By Mat Di Salvo

Bitcoin. Image: Shutterstock

Even as Bitcoin surges to levels not seen in months, HODLing will never go out of style.

More than half of the coins in existence have not moved in over two years, according to recent figures—a new all-time high. 

Blockchain data firm Glassnode told Decrypt that the amount of Bitcoin which last moved more than two years ago currently stands at 53.14%. 

That means 10.2 million Bitcoin is sitting still—roughly $309 billion-worth of satoshis. A total of 19.3 million Bitcoins have been mined since the cryptocurrency came into existence. 

Arkham Intelligence CEO Miguel Morel told Decrypt that dormant coins often find their way back into circulation over time.

“Coins have organically transferred from those with high-time and liquidity preference to those with low-time and liquidity preference,” Morel said. "Through all the shake-ups, for every seller there’s a buyer."

Ancient Bitcoin stashes have been known to move, with “whales”—those who’ve hoarded huge amounts of cryptocurrency, making absurd returns—moving their investment to other addresses. 

Still, Glassnode has previously said that investors are less likely to spend coins after 155 days. And data has previously shown that those who actually make money buying the oldest cryptocurrency are “sophisticated investors” who sit on large amounts for a long time—while the retail investor is likely to lose out. 

"Sometimes those coins never come back into the market," Morel added.

Bitcoin that sits still for a long time can also be attributed to lost coins: a common problem for amateur investors is forgetting the private keys to their digital wallet. 

The latest data points come as the largest cryptocurrency by market cap soars in value: Bitcoin last night hit the $30,000 mark for the first time in 10 months; now it is trading for $30,229, according to CoinGecko. 

At the start of the year, the asset was priced well below $20,000—trading hands for as low as $16,615. 

Investors are clearly hoping that their investment will swell the longer they sit on it.