Buyers on Binance have changed decisively in recent weeks. The exchange lasts seven days net customer volume fluctuated from roughly -$1 billion at the end of March – a period dominated by sellers – to around $2.6 billion in early May, indicating that demand had returned with some strength.
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Reserves are reaching levels not seen since late 2023
This shift in purchasing behavior takes place against a background of contraction Bitcoin offer at major fairs. The combined outflows from Binance, OKX, and Gemini have reached nearly 100,000 BTC since February – worth more than $8 billion at current prices – pushing reserves to the lowest in about two and a half years.
Binance recorded the steepest decline. Assets fell from around 670,000 BTC at the end of February to almost 620,000 BTC on May 7, falling below levels last seen in December 2023.
OKX lost almost 30,000 BTC over a similar period, dropping from 132,000 BTC in early March to around 102,000 BTC. Gemini followed a similar path, dropping from 114,800 BTC in early February to 95,000 BTC.
According to a crypto analyst, a broad decline across multiple platforms is more meaningful than the outflow from a single exchange. When Bitcoin leaves several major venues at once, it signals a broader shift in how holders manage their coins – and not just routine transfers between wallets on the same platform.
OTC supply is tightening alongside stock exchange withdrawals
The supply crisis is not limited to stock market order books. Over-the-counter agency balances – used by large buyers and institutions to move Bitcoin privately, outside the public markets – have also tightened.
The 30-day OTC balance change turned negative, with a net drop of approximately 24,940 BTC. That’s in stark contrast to early February, when the same measure stood at nearly +25,300 BTC, following a drop in Bitcoin’s price towards $60,000.
The reversal indicates that the supply of new Bitcoin into OTC channels has slowed significantly since that previous sell-off.
Accumulation increases among long-term holders
Long-term holders have ramped up their purchases during the Bitcoin boom recovery towards $82,800. Data from CryptoQuant shows that demand from accumulator addresses rose to 264,000 BTC on May 6, a 60% increase from 164,440 BTC just two weeks earlier on April 23. The metric hit a low of almost 100,000 BTC in mid-March before recovering.
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Accumulator addresses typically represent buyers who consistently add to their holdings and rarely sell – a cohort closely watched as a gauge of the conviction of experienced market participants.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView