NOIDA (CoinChapter.com) — The three largest US Bitcoin mining firms are hodling their BTC tokens, suggesting that the publicly traded firms consider the token a store of value. Moreover, the pattern suggests that the firms believe BTC price could increase soon, which could help pad their earnings reports.
Marathon Digital Holdings, the largest Bitcoin mining firm in BTC holdings, holds over 15,740 BTC as of Jan. 31. The second largest mining firm, Hut 8, has nearly 9,200 BTC tokens (Dec. 2023), while Riot Platforms comes third with nearly 7,650 BTC tokens in its coffers.
The three firms account for more than $1.4 billion in Bitcoin. However, with Bitcoin halving approaching, the decrease in supply could spike prices, which could prompt the firms to sell some of their holdings to book profits.
Interestingly, the public-listed Bitcoin mining firms holding BTC tokens as a store of value highlight the growing mainstream adoption of the digital asset.
Moreover, US-listed Bitcoin mining firms hodling BTC could likely indicate that the regulatory approval for spot BTC ETFs has introduced some clarity to the token’s legal status.
Not Every Bitcoin Mining Firm Is Hodling
However, not all Bitcoin mining firms are hodling their mined BTC tokens. Some firms, mostly those not in the US, have been selling their Bitcoin holdings.
The selling activity reached an 8-month high, with over 4,000 coins valued at around $173 million, moved from miner wallets to cryptocurrency exchanges in January earlier this year. The figure was the highest single-day miner-to-exchange flow since May 2023.
Despite the dumping, CryptoQuant analysts noted that the market absorbed the increased selling pressure “calmly,” and the movement had little impact on the reserves in mining portfolios.
The market’s reaction to miners dumping their holdings suggests that while theories often propose that miners selling their newly minted Bitcoin can put downward pressure on the price, the actual impact on the market is likely negligible. Per a report, miners’ share of Bitcoin on-chain volume is usually less than 0.01% of total on-chain volume.
Additionally, ahead of the Bitcoin halving event, there’s been a noticeable increase in Bitcoin selling by miners, likely due to capping prices. Miners might be liquidating part of their holdings, possibly to cover operational costs or capitalize on current market conditions.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin whales are accumulating BTC tokens, with nearly 73 new whales now holding 1,000 Bitcoins.
BTC Price Continues Consolidating
As Bitcoin mining firms hodl their BTC tokens, the token consolidated near the $43,000 price level. BTC price recorded a minor rally of 0.9% to reach a daily high near $43,180. The lack of activity suggests traders are waiting on the fringe as the halving approaches.
If the price of BTC starts rallying, the token could reach the resistance near $45,000. Conversely, a slip from here would see BTC price land on the 50-day EMA (purple wave) support near $42,000. Breaching immediate support might result in the token dropping to the $40,000 support zone before recovering.
The RSI for BTC remained neutral, with a score of 53.73 on the daily charts.
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