On-chain data shows Bitcoin miners have deposited large amounts to derivatives exchanges recently, a sign that these network validators may be hedging against potential future falls.
Bitcoin Miners Have Been Transferring To Derivatives Exchanges Recently
As pointed out by an analyst in a CryptoQuant post, around 4.3k BTC has exited miner reserves during the last two weeks.
The “miner reserve” is an indicator that measures the total amount of Bitcoin currently stored in the wallets of all miners.
When the value of this metric increases, it means miners are transferring coins into their wallets at the moment. Such a trend, when prolonged, can be a sign of accumulation from miners, and hence can be bullish for the crypto’s price.
Related Reading | Data Suggests Buying On Coinbase Behind The Bitcoin Pump
On the other hand, a lowering value of the indicator implies miners are withdrawing their coins right now. Depending on where they are transferring, it could be neutral or bearish for the BTC price.
Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the Bitcoin miner reserves over the last few weeks:
Looks like the value of the metric has been going down recently | Source: CryptoQuant
As you can see in the above graph, the Bitcoin miner reserve has decreased in value during the past couple of weeks.
These withdrawals from miner wallets amounted to around 4.3k BTC in total. The chart also has the data for two more indicators, the second of which (the bottom graph) just shows the netflow, which is simply a measure of the net movement around miner wallets (which would naturally equal the decrease in the reserve for this period).
The middle graph has the curves for the miner flow to derivatives exchanges and their flow to spot exchanges. It looks like most of the transfers during the period went not to spot, but derivatives.
Related Reading | Bitcoin Drops Below $22,000, Is Peter Brandt’s Analysis Still In Play?
This could suggest that miners withdrew these coins for hedging their positions against any potential plunges in the price of Bitcoin, and not for selling them.
If that is indeed the miners’ intention, then the latest decrease in their reserves may not be bearish for the coin’s value.
BTC Price
At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price floats around $21.7k, up 13% in the last seven days. Over the past month, the crypto has lost 28% in value.
Below is a chart that shows the trend in the price of the coin over the last five days.
The value of the crypto seems to have observed some upwards movement over the last couple of days | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView
Featured image from Kanchanara on Unsplash.com, charts from TradingView.com, CryptoQuant.com