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Bitcoin (BTC) remains the most capitalized digital currency in the world, and it gets a lot of attention as the industry’s primary mover. A lot of people track the price of the digital currency using tools like CoinMarketCap and a number of unique metrics that contribute to the growth and performance of Bitcoin that are rarely mentioned. This article looks at three of these on-chain metrics.
Addresses by time held
One important feature of Bitcoin is its capped supply at 21 million. With a circulating supply of 19,571,581 BTC, it is a luxury to get a hold of the coin, even though exchanges hold an excess of what is being demanded at the moment.
Based on this, a class of address holders dubbed “Holders” are helping to solidify the growth of the coin.
Holders, or addresses that have held their BTC for more than one year, account for 69.23% of all addresses holding the coin. This surpasses the combination of “Cruisers” or accounts that sell regularly, amounting to 23.99%, and “Traders” or those that have held for at least three months, accounting for 6.78% of all addresses.
Network difficulty
Bitcoin network difficulty as measured by the hashrate is also an important metric that dictates the rate of BTC production. According to data from Blockchain.com, the current hashrate is 493,313,217.742 TH/s, up from 368,924,260.618 TH/s as of Sept. 1.
The higher this hashrate, the more difficult BTC production is and, essentially, the more secure the network is as well. With the incoming Bitcoin halving, more miners are preparing for this event by plugging in more miners into the network, a move that can significantly boost the hashrate and contribute indirectly to the scarcity of the asset.
Exchange netflows
In the crypto world, exchanges are the primary channel through which many get to embrace and give up digital currencies like Bitcoin. Exchange netflow reveals the difference between coins entering exchanges and those leaving. A positive netflow shows more funds are entering exchanges than are leaving and vice versa.
According to data from IntoTheBlock, the current exchange netflow is pegged at negative $62.57 million. This implies more money is leaving exchanges into self-storage as it reduces the underlying selling pressure, boosting price sentiment.