New data reveals why those that purchased in Bitcoin in 2017 are the strongest HODLers in 2021

People who bought Bitcoin to become the strongest HODLers in 2017, new data reveals.

Investors who started their Bitcoin journey three to five years ago have stronger hands than you would expect.

Bitcoin (BTC) could be worth almost three times as much as it was at the height of its 2017 bull run, but a lot of hodlers from that time declined to sell.

The latest data from Bitcoin financial services firm Unchained Capital shows that 2017 buyers control an increasingly large amount of the BTC supply.

2017 hodlers are not “weak hands”

According to Unchained’s HODL Waves table, which rates the supply according to when the coins were last transferred, those who purchased three to five years ago are sitting on their investment.

After the cross-asset crash of March 2020, when BTC/USD dropped to a low of $3,600, the percentage of BTC supplies last moved between February 2016 and February 2018 increased from 5.57 per cent to 13.38 per cent.

In other words, the uptrend in price during 2019, much of 2020 and all of 2021 did not make the 2017 bull run investors sell after the multi-year bear market had survived.

On the other hand, the five-year to seven-year and seven-year to ten-year crowd has reduced its presence over the past year.

“At the beginning of January, 59% of all bitcoin in the network were sitting for longer than 1 year without moving, and by the end of the month, that number dipped to 57%, a decrease of 2% or around roughly 372,320 bitcoin,” Unchained wrote in an update earlier this month.

“It appears that most of the bitcoin transacted during January was bitcoin sitting for less than 3 years, as the bitcoin resting for 3-5 years actually increased by .8%, totally unperturbed by the price volatility. These are the folks that have been holding ever since the last price spike of $15,500 in January 2018, or from $431 in January of 2016.”

10-Year veterans hold tight

The data counteracts an informal narrative still found online that suggests that Bitcoin hit $20,000 for the first time since 2017 last year sparked a huge sell-off from investors desperate to get out of parity or with a small benefit.

Subsequent gains were stated to have generated small sales outside the whale investor crowd, with any price drips actively purchased.

HODL Waves also confirms that the demand for Bitcoin has not been depressed by price increases of more than $30,000, $40,000, and even $50,000.

In the meantime, the separate cohort, those who purchased before 2011, is equally responsible for a greater supply. Since 15 March 2020, their share has risen from 6.85 per cent to 10.24 per cent.

A stash of 100 BTC, untouched since 2010, made its first reappearance on the network this week.

However, as compared to 2016 to 2018, the situation is complicated by the arrival of large corporate investors, especially MicroStrategy, which reported its new buy-in this week, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to more than 90,000 BTC.

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