After reaching an all-time high in March 2020 of 3.14 million BTC, bitcoin (BTC) inventories on exchanges have decreased by 22%. According to figures from Glassnode, there are currently 2.45 million BTC on exchanges, the same level that was recorded a little more than three years ago, in August 2018.
According to data from Glassnode, an all-time high for the BTC balance on exchanges was reached on March 16, 2020, of 3,137,759 BTC. The following graph shows the evolution of the BTC balance of the exchanges since the beginning of 2018.
The maximum of 2020, coincides with the fall of the cryptocurrency market, in conjunction with the collapse of the stock market, when the World Health Organization (WHO) made the existence of the Covid pandemic official.
The current level of inventories of 2.45 million BTC, coincides with the value of a little more than three years ago, on August 22, 2018, as can be seen in the graph.
This year 145,000 BTC left the exchanges, which represents a decrease of 5.59%. Starting in April of this year, when the previous all-time high for the price of bitcoin was set, there was an increase in inventories. This boom, however, only lasted three months, as from July the downward trend returned, which continues to this day.
Distribution of balances by exchange
The following graph shows the evolution of the balances, discriminating by exchange. Currently, Coinbase has 689,951 BTC, or 28.1% of the total. It follows Binance, with 526,581 BTC, or 21.4% and Gemini with 306,830 BTC, which represents 12.5% of the total balance. These three exchanges have 1,523,362 BTC, which represents 62% of the total balance.
Bitfinex, Kraken and Bittrex are the exchanges that follow in descending order, with a cumulative of 484,731 BTC, or 19.7% of the total balance. In summary, the six exchanges mentioned are almost 82% and a total of 2,008,0893 BTC.
In March 2020, the distribution was different, as Coinbase had 32.2% of the total and Binance only represented 8.5%, while Gemini had only 4.1% of the total balance. In other words, Coinbase’s dominance has decreased to 28%, while Binance and Gemini grew and today account for more than a third of the total balance sheet.
The pink shaded area shows the declining supply shock from mid-April, when the previous all-time high in price occurred, until the end of May. This decline coincides with a sales phase, which gives way to the restart of accumulation. Clemente highlights that the supply shock returns to the highs of mid-April, and is at its highest value since the end of 2017 , which indicates that the bitcoin consolidation process could be in its final phase, according to that analyst .
There is coincidence between the falling value of the BTC balance in the main exchanges, with the growth of illiquidity or the supply shock, which tends to push prices up.
