The number of Bitcoins held by long-term investors has reached 15.26 million, a level not seen since August 2025. According to analyst Darkfost at CryptoQuant, these investors have purchased an additional 316,000 BTC in the last month.
Investors are now focused on the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s May meeting, the last one led by Chair Jerome Powell. These notes could significantly influence market sentiment for the next few months.
Long-Term Holders Reverse November’s Selling
According to CryptoQuant’s Darkfost, long-term Bitcoin holders are now holding around 15.26 million BTC. They’ve increased their holdings by approximately 316,000 BTC in the last month.
This is a significant change from late November, when long-term Bitcoin holders sold around 650,000 BTC in just one month. This recent shift suggests that investors who initially purchased Bitcoin about six months ago, near its recent high, are now starting to buy again.
According to Darkfost, long-term Bitcoin holders are continuing to accumulate BTC, now holding a total of 15.26 million. These investors are generally seen as more reliable than short-term holders.
The analyst also pointed out something happening in late May: a large amount of Bitcoin—800,000 BTC—that was moved from Coinbase last year will have been held for six months on May 23rd.
These coins are likely to be held for a long time, which could make it appear as though the available supply on the blockchain is decreasing later this month.
Exchange Flows Stabilize as Bottom Signals Surface
As of right now, Bitcoin is trading around $78,047, which is a slight decrease of 0.17% over the past day. According to Coin Bureau, the difference between the amount of Bitcoin entering and leaving exchanges has been getting smaller for the last six days.
According to a recent analysis, periods of consistent Bitcoin movement, decreasing reserves, and fewer large transactions (often called ‘whales’) have frequently coincided with the lowest points in Bitcoin’s price since 2019.
As a crypto investor, I’ve been watching the market closely, and Coin Bureau analysts pointed out something interesting: we’re seeing patterns similar to those right before major Bitcoin price rebounds since 2019. Specifically, consistent inflows, decreasing Bitcoin held on exchanges, and large investors (whales) quietly buying more all suggest there’s a lot of ‘dry powder’ – meaning funds ready to push the price up – building up. It’s a bullish signal, hinting we might be nearing a bottom.
FOMC Minutes Arrive During a Leadership Handover
These market patterns are developing as investors wait for the Federal Reserve to release notes from its April 28-29 meeting on Wednesday at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.
Yardeni Research analysts predict the Federal Reserve will likely indicate it’s leaning towards raising interest rates at its June meeting, and then actually increase rates by 0.25% at the July meeting. They also suggest further rate increases are possible before the end of the year.
The committee decided to keep interest rates steady, remaining between 3.50% and 3.75% – this is the third time in a row they’ve chosen not to make a change. There was significant disagreement among committee members, with four officials voting against the decision – the biggest split in over 30 years. Governor Stephen Miran argued for a small rate cut, while Presidents Lorie Logan, Neel Kashkari, and Beth Hammack believed the committee’s current stance suggested rates would be lowered too soon.
Jerome Powell finished his term as Chair on May 15th, and Kevin Warsh was approved by the Senate to take his place with a vote of 54 to 45. Powell will continue to serve on the Board of Governors until January 2028.
These meeting notes are the last official record created while Jerome Powell was leading the Federal Reserve. Investors will carefully examine them for any changes in how comfortable the Fed is with inflation, or clues about its future plans.
These signals might affect where the market stands heading into the June meeting with Warsh, and could impact Bitcoin’s price in the short term.
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2026-05-17 21:47