TL;DR

Long-term Bitcoin holders from 2017–2019 keep BTC untouched, building a strong market foundation. Institutions hedge spot exposure with options, signaling capital inflows rather than retail panic. Technical breakout and bullish RSI divergence show resistance weakening and support strengthening for BTC.

Long-Term Holders Remain Steady

Bitcoin holders with coins aged between 5 and 7 years are now entering a new category. Data shows that the Realized Cap of this group has dropped from around $14.9 billion to $8.5 billion in the past year. According to analyst Cas Abbé, this decline is not due to selling.

Instead, most of these coins have simply moved into the 7+ year age band. That means they have stayed in the same wallets, untouched, since being purchased between 2017 and 2019.

“These aren’t weak hands,” Abbé said. “They’ve survived halvings, crashes, FUD waves, and blow-off tops.”

Notably, this shift shows that long-term investors continue to hold their positions through changing market conditions. Unlike many assets, Bitcoin is not cycling through new owners as often. The same wallets continue to accumulate and hold.

$BTC holders are quietly proving why they’re the backbone of every cycle.

Over the past year, the 5–7 year cohort’s Realized Cap dropped from ~$14.9B → ~$8.5B.

But here’s the catch, this isn’t because they sold. Almost all of it simply aged into the 7y+ bands.

That means… pic.twitter.com/Q4mBJuz0Jn

Options Market Shows Institutional Movement

Activity in the Bitcoin options market is also drawing attention. Analyst BitBull noted that the 1-month 25 Delta Skew has reached a new high. This metric often reflects a rise in demand for downside protection.

“Everyone’s staring at price, but the real action is in the options market,” BitBull posted. “This isn’t retail panic, it’s institutions hedging.”

As ETFs and other investment products become more common, large players are entering the space. Many of these firms hedge their spot positions with puts. The increase in skew shows this hedging in progress.

Source: BitBull/X While this might appear to signal fear, it reflects risk management. Institutions are building exposure while protecting it against short-term drops.

Price Action Signals Support is Building

Bitcoin recently broke out of a multi-week downtrend, which has been confirmed with multiple daily closes above it. After the breakout, the price tested resistance around $113,500, a level that previously acted as support in August.

The rejection from that level was shallow. The asset fell briefly, then quickly returned to retest the same area. Analyst Rekt Capital observed,

“This resistance may be weakening as a point of rejection.”

Source: Rekt Capital/X Bitcoin is now trading near $113,000. If it closes above $113,500, further upside may follow. If not, a move back to $110,000 seems likely.

Another observation came from Merlijn The Trader, who pointed to a divergence between price and RSI on the weekly chart. While the price made lower lows, RSI posted higher lows.

“Price makes lower lows. RSI makes higher lows,” he said. “This is a textbook bear trap.”

This pattern is being watched closely by traders looking for signs of trend change.