Bitcoin continues to trade above the $70,000 level as the broader crypto market moves into another period of high volatility. After several attempts to regain momentum, price action remains volatile, reflecting continued uncertainty in global financial markets. Despite these short-term trends, structural indicators suggest that more changes are occurring underneath the Bitcoin market.
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The latest CryptoQuant report highlights a long-term trend that has emerged since 2022: a steady decline in the volume of BTC stored on centralized exchanges. This change accelerated after the FTX crash in November 2022, an event that significantly changed investor behavior in the crypto ecosystem. During that month alone, users removed more than 325,000 bitcoins from the exchange’s reserves, rushing to move their assets into private custody.
Today, the total Bitcoin reserves on the exchanges have dropped to the last level in 2019, which is currently around 2.7 million BTC. Among retail-focused exchanges, Binance alone accounts for nearly 20% of this supply, reflecting its dominant role in global crypto trading.
When institutional platforms are included, Coinbase Advanced emerges as the largest holder, with around 800,000 BTC held on the exchange. However, this number remains approximately 200,000 BTC below the levels recorded in July 2025, highlighting the continued decline in the exchange’s supply.
Institutional hoarding is changing the dynamics of Bitcoin’s supply
The CryptoQuant report also notes that the drop in exchange reserves cannot be explained solely by the effects of the FTX collapse. Although this event accelerated the movement of funds into self-interest, two additional structural developments played an important role in returning the exchange balance to recent levels in 2019.
The first major driver in January 2024 was the launch of Bitcoin ETFs. At that time, the exchange reserves were still above 3.2 million BTC. Since then, these investment vehicles have absorbed most of the circulating supply.
Today, spot ETFs hold a total of about 1.3 million BTC, which is about 6.7% of the total supply. A cold storage facility that sequesters these holdings effectively removes large amounts of Bitcoin from the liquidity of active exchanges.
The second structural factor is the emergence of digital asset funds. A growing number of companies have started holding Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset, accumulating a total of about 1.1 million BTC, which is about 5% of the total supply.
Together, these developments will change the structure of the Bitcoin market. As ETFs and corporate funds lock in larger portions of the supply, an increasing proportion of BTC will be incorporated into the institutional financial framework. Over time, this change can gradually tighten the available liquidity of the market and affect the dynamics of long-term price formation.
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Bitcoin consolidates near $67k as short-term momentum fades
The 4-hour chart shows Bitcoin trading around $67,500 after a period of extreme volatility that occurred throughout February and early March. The price initially dropped from the $87,000 area, prompting a strong sell-off that briefly took BTC below $60,000 before buyers stepped in to stabilize the market. After that surrender event, Bitcoin entered a broad consolidation phase, which mainly fluctuates between $64,000 and $72,000.
Technically, the chart shows a weak short-term structure. Bitcoin remains below the long-term moving average and the 200-period moving average (red) is trending down and acting as upper resistance. Any recent rally attempts after price closes to this level have struggled to maintain momentum, indicating that sellers remain active during higher moves.
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Meanwhile, shorter-term indicators have begun to flatten, reflecting a temporary balance between buyers and sellers. The market is currently hovering around these short-term indicators, which suggests caution as participants reassess the broader macro environment.
Volume activity remains relatively flat compared to the pace seen in February, suggesting that the most aggressive selling pressure has already occurred. However, for a stronger upward recovery to develop, Bitcoin will likely need to recover the $70,000-$72,000 zone and establish a stable trade above the long-term descending average.
Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
