Bitcoin’s 2026 market split: November exits, dormant supply and long-term holders

In November 2025, a sharp spike in Bitcoin’s dormant circulation signaled that many long-term holders used a price rally to exit, leaving 2026 trading shaped by their earlier distribution. On-chain data into early 2026 shows Coin Days Destroyed and other age-based metrics at historically low levels, suggesting most remaining long-term investors are inactive even as price hovers far above their cost basis. This has created a two-speed market: short-term traders and some early whales are taking profits, while a large pool of older coins stays untouched, pointing to a prolonged consolidation rather than outright panic.