{"slug":"dormant-supply","term":"Dormant Supply","category":"Whales & On-Chain","definition":"Dormant supply is coins that haven't moved on-chain for a defined period — typically one year or more. It approximates the holdings of long-term investors. When large dormant tranches suddenly move, it signals old holders repositioning, often near cycle extremes; metrics like Coin Days Destroyed spike when very old coins finally wake.","street":"Coins that slept through two cycles just moved — someone with diamond hands finally found their price.","depth":["It's tracked in age bands — coins untouched for 1, 3, 5, 10+ years — with spike metrics like Coin Days Destroyed weighting each move by how long the coins slept. In deep bear phases, well over 60% of BTC typically hasn't moved in a year; that share erodes as bull markets mature and old hands sell into strength. When a 10-year-dormant wallet moves, check the destination: an exchange deposit address, or just consolidation into fresh cold storage.","The headline trap: 'Satoshi-era whale awakens' stories are mostly estate housekeeping and key rotation — the coins usually never touch an exchange, and price does nothing. One old wallet is a story. The signal is the cohort: dormancy falling across many aged bands while price sits near highs means the longest-conviction holders are finally distributing — historically a late-cycle tell, and not one to fade just because the chart still looks strong."],"live":{"label":"BTC moving in and out of labelled exchange wallets","href":"/tools/whale-alert"},"related":["whale","distribution","capitulation"]}