High Bitcoin prices have pushed many miners to become sellers, with miner inventories dropping to levels that have not been seen since early September. Many of these Bitcoin miners are simply looking to offload excess inventory, according to an analyst.
According to ByteTree, a Bitcoin data and research platform, more than 30% more Bitcoin were sold than mined on Thursday as many Bitcoin miners sent part of their holdings to the market.
On Twitter, Charlie Morris, Founder of ByteTree, wrote, “The Bitcoin miners are net sellers again, which kicked off yesterday.” The analyst then went on to display a graph that showed the percentage of Bitcoin sold compared to the percentage mined.
The round of selling from the miners was also apparent in data that tracks minor inventories. As of Friday, miners’ inventories fell to their lowest level since September 11 this year. Miners currently hold 1,521,397 Bitcoin units.
The current number shows a drop from a peak of 1,523,766, which was reached on November 8- this is when the price of Bitcoin stood at around $45,000. In the early days of Bitcoin, around 1.5 million units were mined that never made the market.
Commenting on the recent findings, Morris said that the selling comes after a period of accumulation from miners. He stated, “The miners have been accumulating BTC since early September which has served them well,” Morris said. The Chief Investment Officer added that “some have decided to take profits,” while noting that this is “not huge, but tells us sentiment is shifting.”
Morris then went on to say that, “Miners sell BTC every day as they have costs to pay and want to bank profits. Prices are high and so they see an opportunity.” Morris also noted that given Bitcoins recent attempt to reach a new all-time high, the selling could be related to some miners who had bet on a higher price spike and are now finding themselves on the wrong side of the bet.
The ByteTree founder said, “perhaps they assumed the recent [all-time high] would see a price spike. It hasn’t happened and so they are selling more than they recently have,” adding, “they aren’t turning bearish en masse, just at the margin. Recall they have been building excess inventory.”
Morris also explained that miners have been historically “good market timers.”
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