Large holders no longer trust exchanges and provoke an outflow of digital currencies in the amount of 8.7 million coins.

According to the report of the analytical company Glassnode, the holders of digital assets are transferring them to offline storage mode, as they fear a deterioration in the situation on the exchanges.

With the onset of the “crypto winter”, investors in the world’s largest cryptocurrency are becoming less and less active and are gradually moving into “energy saving mode”. Analysts note that in early July, their online activity fell by 13% compared to November. This happened in the market during the bearish phases of 2018 and 2019, when bitcoin was worth less than $10,000.

Investors do not want to take risks, and therefore are gradually leaving crypto exchanges to store their digital assets offline – in crypto wallets. According to Glassnode, the balances of exchanges have fallen by more than 20% compared to the peak value on January 20, media reports and recalls that in May, the BTC rate fell below $20,000 for the first time since 2020.

There is still some activity, although the demand indicator has been on a downward trend in recent weeks, there is still a stable holder base as the price hovers around $20k. Glassnode says the relatively stable transaction activity is indicative of ongoing bitcoin consolidation.

According to Craig Johnson, chief marketing officer at Piper Sandler Companies, the key milestones for bitcoin are $18,910 and $21,557, the lows and highs that BTC has been hitting in recent months.

“Until Bitcoin breaks out of this range – either up or down – you can’t draw any conclusions about whether the trend has changed or not,” Johnson stressed, adding that in the short term, a downtrend should be expected. According to Johnson, if the rate rises to 26 thousand – 28 thousand dollars, then this may indicate an upward trend.

The collapse of the bitcoin rate hit Coinbase Global Inc. the hardest, as the exchange lost 450,000 coins over the past two years. Binance, which recently partnered with TikTok creator Xabi Lamé and soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, has increased its Bitcoin supply by 300K in the same time frame, making it the most popular Bitcoin exchange according to Glassnode and TXMC.

Recent business interruptions, such as the suspension of Coinflex and Vauld withdrawals and the reduction in CoinLoan withdrawal amounts, have reduced investor confidence in the exchanges. According to Glassnode data, illiquid supply increased by 223,000 bitcoins in June as investors moved funds to wallets from exchanges. Of those 223K, large cryptocurrency holders accounted for the majority of this outflow from exchanges as they withdrew over 140K tokens in June. These “whales” are responsible for the outflow of almost 8.7 million coins, or more than 40% of bitcoins.