Bitcoin (BTC) is being withdrawn from exchanges at an unprecedented rate as its price surges towards all-time highs. James Van Straten, a research and data analyst at crypto insights firm CryptoSlate, highlighted the substantial BTC withdrawals in a recent post on X. According to data from Glassnode, on March 1 alone, withdrawals amounted to around $2 billion, a figure that Van Straten described as unprecedented. The withdrawals are reminiscent of the trend seen in 2021, indicating that mainstream investors may not have returned to crypto yet, but Bitcoin exchanges are experiencing a drain on their reserves. The data also revealed that the United States spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) played a significant role in the withdrawals, with approximately $200 million sent to custodian Coinbase Pro. Binance, on the other hand, saw around $400 million in withdrawals over the past few days. Glassnode’s data indicates that the total BTC assets available on the major trading platform it monitors currently stands at 2,286,347 BTC ($142.5 billion), the lowest amount since March 2018 when BTC/USD traded at $8,000. In addition to the significant withdrawals, there is evidence of new entities entering the Bitcoin market. Data tracking unspent transaction output (UTXO) ages shows that “younger” coins are being moved, while older coins that have been dormant for six months or more are becoming active. This suggests that new investors are entering the market, and it is expected that more individual investors will join in the near future. As always, readers are advised to conduct their own research and exercise caution when making investment decisions.
Exchanges witness unprecedented Bitcoin outflows, as record-breaking $2B is withdrawn daily