Activity of dormant Bitcoin decreased in the second quarter. It fell to its lowest level since the third quarter of 2022. This data was published by Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, in a post on X.
Historically, the revival of old cryptocurrencies has coincided with profit-taking by Bitcoin's most long-term holders.
Bitcoin's dormancy movement slows after two-year sell-off
Bitcoin's "dormancy movement" refers to when it sits idle for years and then starts moving again. Analysts closely monitor this, and activity in wallets where bitcoin has been held for a long time often coincides with sales. "Quiet wallets" indicate that owners are holding onto their bitcoins.
"Experienced traders are taking profits," said Thorn, comparing this trend to Bitcoin in 2017. In his view, most Bitcoin holders who wanted to sell their assets during the rallies in 2024 and 2025 have already done so. This is one less factor putting selling pressure on the market. The "Coin Days Destroyed" metric tells a similar story. This indicator, which measures spending adjusted for the time coins were idle, also declined in the second quarter.
In mid-July, Thorn called the two-year period an "excellent distribution." He wrote that in 2024 and 2025, there was as much movement of long-dormant Bitcoin on the blockchain as during the entire 2017 rally, and nothing in between came close to that level. He also estimated the pace of revival in 2026 to be less than half of last year's level for dormant coin activations.
Galaxy's charts cover the period from 2016. They show a recurring cycle: old coins "awaken" during the rallies of 2017, 2021, as well as in 2024 and 2025. Holders of coins aged 1 to 10 years moved large volumes, primarily for selling. Distribution peaked in late 2025 when about 900,000 BTC aged one to two years were moved in a single month. This flow has dried up this year.
Dormant coin activation volumes in the second quarter were the lowest since the third quarter of 2022 and significantly lower than the high levels of 2024 and 2025. pic.twitter.com/thrC9K6Gdx
— Alex Thorn (@intangiblecoins) July 25, 2026
Bitcoin fluctuates around $65,000 as large investor selling subsides
The decline in Bitcoin's price followed a sharp drop. In October 2025, the token reached a historic high, surpassing $126,000. It then fell by about 48%, trading around $65,265 by mid-July. At the time of writing, its price is $64,808.55
However, Thorn refuted one of the theories circulating online. "We are not seeing large investors selling assets due to quantum computing risk," he said. Galaxy works with a large number of institutional investors, and none have cited quantum risk as a reason for closing a position, Thorn noted. Fear of quantum technologies more often deters outside buyers than prompts existing asset holders to sell.
Large Bitcoin holders were actively selling several months before the slowdown. On July 3, Cryptopolitan reported that several large wallets, including one belonging to venture capitalist Tim Draper and other wallets holding mining company reserves, were transferring coins to exchanges. Bitcoin was trading around $57,950, a 21-month low.
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