Bitcoin wallets absorb 4.37M BTC as network activity flips to bull phase

New data suggests Bitcoin (BTC) is moving closer to a bull-market phase as its supply slowly shifts back into long-term, retail-investor-linked wallets. In Q1 2026, the figure surpassed 4 million BTC.

Long-term wallets add to accumulation

CryptoQuant data shows that balances held by accumulating address cohorts continued to rise into Q1 2026. The total BTC held by these cohorts crossed 4.37 million BTC as of April 7, up from about 2 million BTC in early 2024, indicating sustained supply absorption.

Within this trend, retail-investor-linked accumulation addresses added roughly 857,000 BTC. Separately, the accumulating pattern wallets—defined as addresses that steadily add BTC at recurring intervals with minimal outflows—expanded to 1.29 million BTC.

This accumulation occurred while BTC’s price remained capped below $70,000 throughout the first quarter of 2026.

Exchange and active-address inflows slow

In contrast, inflows from centralized exchanges and highly active addresses have slowed. During the 2023–2024 expansion phases, inflows often exceeded 1.2 million to 1.5 million BTC. More recently, the activity has averaged 300,000 to 350,000 BTC.

The divergence points to a shift in coin distribution: more BTC is moving into long-term wallets, while fewer coins are circulating on exchanges. This is consistent with tightening liquid supply and reduced short-term trading turnover.

Network activity index rises

The CryptoQuant Bitcoin network activity index climbed to 3,600 from 3,320 on March 22. The index aggregates broader usage signals, including transaction counts and network throughput.

It moved above its 365-day moving average for the first time since December 2024 and entered the “bull-phase” classification for the first time since April 2025.

Active addresses momentum hits a low

At the same time, Bitcoin’s active addresses momentum dropped to -0.25 on April 6, the lowest reading since April 2018. The metric tracks the rate of change in active addresses, with negative values indicating declining user participation.

These low activity levels have persisted since July 2025, echoing a similar stretch in 2024 that preceded a 35% price decline.

According to crypto analyst Gaah, the decline in activity suggests the absence of short-term participants, or “tourists.” Network usage appears increasingly dominated by long-term holders focused on accumulation.

Implications for sell pressure and turnover

Historically, low readings have aligned with profitable accumulation phases, often coinciding with lower sell pressure as coins move into long-term wallets. With more BTC being absorbed by long-term cohorts and fewer coins remaining on exchanges, the data suggests a reduction in short-term turnover alongside stronger network activity.