Stock markets are losing a lot of Bitcoins, while Wall Street is gobbling it all up

The outflow of Bitcoin (BTC) from trading platforms reaches the highest level since the beginning of this year. At the same time, US spot ETFs continue to buy large amounts of Bitcoin. New data shows that the available supply is shifting towards parties that generally hold their coins for longer.

Demand for Bitcoin is growing rapidly

The Bitcoin price is moving in a market in which the availability of coins appears to be decreasing. Bitcoin outflows from trading platforms are at the highest level since the beginning of this year. Less Bitcoin on exchanges may indicate that holders are less willing to sell their Bitcoin.

At the same time, US spot ETFs still play a visible role in Bitcoin’s net supply. Since their introduction, these funds have broken multiple inflow records and there were periods when they bought more than 1,500 to 2,500 Bitcoin on some days, well above the daily production of 900 Bitcoin after the halving in April 2024. This put additional pressure on the available supply at the time.

The situation has changed in recent weeks. The ETFs recently had their weakest month since their launch, with a significant outflow of more than $3 billion from various funds. As a result, the influence of ETFs on supply is currently less clear than before.

Major shift in supply

Market data from Santiment shows a clear decline in the amount of Bitcoin on trading platforms. According to the platform, there are currently more than 400,000 fewer Bitcoin on exchanges than around the same period last year. Since December 7, more than 403,000 Bitcoin have disappeared from trading platforms, approximately 2 percent of the total supply.

Santiment calls this in a message on

Role of ETFs and market dynamics

Demand from ETFs has a visible impact on Bitcoin’s net supply. The daily inflow into these funds regularly exceeds the amount of newly mined coins. This is a structural shift compared to previous years, in which new demand mainly came from the retail market.

According to an economic model from the study A Supply and Demand Framework for Bitcoin Price Dynamics A declining liquid inventory, combined with increasing demand, can lead to greater price fluctuations. When there is less Bitcoin freely available, the market can respond more quickly to large buy or sell orders.