Bitcoin’s $105K Drop Highlights a New Perspective: Long-Term Holders Stay Steady as Exchange Reserves Shrink

Bitcoin is once again undergoing a significant decline, and the market in 2025 is not the same as it was in 2020 or 2021. Although the headlines resemble each other, the structure of the market has changed radically, now forming another response to the same type of shock.

Same Shock, Different Market Structure: Why Bitcoin in 2025 Isn’t 2021 or 2020

“With exchange reserves shrinking and long-term holders steady, temporary volatility does not equate to structural weakness.” – By @xwinfinance pic.twitter.com/J3cFZBFEVo

— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) October 17, 2025

This situation contrasts with previous cycles when fear led to large amounts of Bitcoin being sent to exchanges, while currently, exchange reserves are at decade lows.

It implies there are fewer tokens in the market that can be sold, as the potential sell pressure is smaller and the liquidity in the market generally is tightened.

Record Low Exchange Reserves

In the earlier correction stages, the inflows of the exchange soared as the traders flocked to sell their Bitcoin holdings. This surge of supply tended to stimulate more permanent, far-reaching sell-offs that preyed on panic.

In the present times, though, the exchange balances of Bitcoin are ten years at the very lowest. According to analysts, such a small supply of sellable tokens alters the dynamics of the corrections.

The low number of coins in circulation makes long periods of downtrend difficult to maintain, even during the volatility outbreak.

The market is now more likely to bounce back from shocks more quickly than it was in the past due to the series of liquidations.

Long-Term Bitcoin Holders Remain Unshaken

The actions of long-term holders also reflect this change in behavior.

During the previous cycles, such measures as the Long-Term Holder Spent Output Profit Ratio (LTH-SOPR) went down to below 1 in several months’ value, indicating capitulation and loss big time.

LTH-SOPR is close to neutral this time, however, indicating that it is not a panicking move but profit-taking.

Experienced investors remain during the volatile periods with more conviction and belief in the future direction of Bitcoin.

This stable holding by seasoned investors gives the market some stability, not allowing it to be at the mercy of abrupt fluctuations caused by the disturbances brought about by speculation of short duration.

A Healthier Market Foundation

Looking back, most past crashes within the system tended to clear surplus leverage and triggered new periods of accumulation.

The crash in March of 2020 resulted in a rapid V-shaped recovery for Bitcoin, and in May 2021, whales first sold and later repurchased at bottoms.

Comparatively, the 2025 market is less leveraged.

Bitcoin is currently trading at $105800, and the support is at $101,000 and the resistance at $112,000. Its EMA-50 is at $99,800, and the RSI is at 47, and this means a balanced momentum.

As exchange reserves contract and long-term investors are shaken, this backlash appears to be more of a consolidation than a crash and may be the catalyst to the next big move it makes.