At first glance, the crypto market seems strong. Despite ongoing global tensions, Bitcoin has acted as a safe haven, with steady price movements supporting confidence.
But beneath that force, something unusual unfolds.
Data from Alpharactal shows that while new retail and institutional capital is actively traded, coins held for more than three years are virtually inactive.
The Coin Days Destroyed (CDD) statistic does fallen to historic lows, even on a 90-day average, indicating that long-term holders are not selling or reacting to market swings.
Looking deeper, this phase shows that Bitcoin was dealing with supply depletion rather than simple hesitation.
What do other on-statistics refer to?
The Age Consumed measure shows that older investors were calm, but when prices rose to local highs in late November, that calm broke sharply.
Source: Santiment
Moreover, the 90-day dormant circulation also spiked sharply, showing that long-term holders used the rally to exit the market.
Data from Glassnode confirms that the 90-day Coin Days Destroyed (CDD-90) has fallen to very low levels since December 2025.
In fact, as the price drifted towards the $70,000 region in February 2026, there appears to be a strange divergence where the price weakened but the CDD-90 did not rise.
Source: Glassnode
Normally, older keepers react during stress. This time they are not.
That suggests that most of the large-scale sales have already taken place in November, and that the remaining holders are highly engaged and inactive.
Still, a low CDD-90 is not automatically bullish. If long-term holders aren’t selling, they aren’t actively providing strong buying support.
Mixed retail sentiments
But despite this, retail sentiment around Bitcoin remains strong [BTC] remains intact, like noted by former JP Morgan employee, Aditya Singhania, who said,
“There is absolutely no panic in Bitcoin! Everyone is panicking and expecting a big drop tomorrow. The market could positively surprise most people. If there had been real panic, this would have been seen for the first time in the crypto market.”
However, not everyone shares the same sentiment as noted by Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff, who said:
Source: Peter Schiff/X
What awaits us?
Historically, Bitcoin often finds a true bottom near its Long-Term Holder (LTH) cost basis, now around $38,900. With the price still roughly 66% above that level, the market has not seen the deep reset that has characterized previous bear cycles.
Current selling seems to be driven mainly by short-term investors, while long-term investors remain steady, which is a sign of pressure, but not panic.
At the same time, an early whale, followed by Lookonchain, recently sold 500 BTC worth about $47.77 million from a supply of 5,000 BTC that was bought years ago at almost $332.
Overall, Bitcoin in 2026 feels like two markets at once. On one side are the long-term investors who remain inactive and unaffected by volatility.
OOn the other hand, there are early whales who slowly convert paper profits into real wealth. All in all, unless global economic conditions deteriorate sharply, the most likely outcome is a long period of sideways movement rather than a dramatic crash or breakout.
Final summary
- The spike in dormant circulation in November suggests that major selling has already occurred during the rally.
- With the OGs inactive, it appears the market is digesting previous distribution rather than capitulating again.