Bitcoin long-term holders wait and see despite price rise

Long-term holders of Bitcoin, also known as LTHs, have become slightly more active now that the Bitcoin price has recently risen, but overall their activity remains limited in 2026. That is evident from an analysis of the Coin Days Destroyed indicator, which provides insight into when Bitcoin that has been dormant for a long time starts moving again. Bitcoin currently stands at $76.700, a decline of 0.8% over the past 24 hours.

In brief:

• The CDD indicator shows that LTHs have been more active in the current cycle than in previous cycles.
• The increased activity is visible not only at price peaks, but also during capitulation moments.
• In 2026, LTH activity remains limited for now, despite a slight uptick due to the recent price rise.

What does the CDD indicator measure?

Coin Days Destroyed, or CDD, is an indicator that measures how many days a Bitcoin was held before it was moved. The longer a coin remained dormant, the more “coin days” are destroyed at the moment of movement. A high CDD value generally indicates that long-term holders are moving their Bitcoin, which is often associated with an intention to sell.

Analyst Darkfost shares a heatmap on X based on the 30-day moving average of the CDD. It shows that the current cycle stands out in terms of LTH activity compared with previous cycles.

More activity due to ETFs and companies with Bitcoin reserves

According to the analyst, the increased available liquidity played an important role in the higher LTH activity during this cycle. The arrival of Bitcoin ETFs and companies that put large amounts of Bitcoin on their balance sheets created extra demand and the associated market dynamics.

It is also striking that the increased activity did not coincide solely with price peaks. The heatmap also shows spikes during capitulation moments, when holders take losses after a price decline. Darkfost further pointed to the movement of 800,000 Bitcoin by Coinbase, a large part of which had been held for more than six months. Such large transactions can temporarily push the CDD up sharply, but according to the analyst this is an exception and not representative of the overall picture. thelatestcryptonews.com previously wrote about Coinbase in a different context.

LTHs remain cautious in 2026

Despite the recent rise in the Bitcoin price, the overall activity of long-term holders in 2026 remains relatively low. Darkfost attributes the slight uptick now visible in the data to holders who want to profit quickly from the price rise. Structurally, however, LTHs have not yet started selling en masse.

The analyst’s conclusion is therefore simple: long-term holders are waiting. Whether this means they are counting on higher prices, or simply see no reason to sell now, the indicator itself does not show.