Despite Bitcoin's slow recovery from the $52k to $45k plunge earlier in the month, analytic firm Glassnode recorded the transfer of $1.2 billion of bitcoin off major exchanges.

Bitcoin being taken off exchanges is a clear sign that the owner is storing it instead of keeping it on an exchange where they can easily sell it.

This confirms that bitcoin accumulation continued as the price fell.

How Many Are Truly HODLing? Here's the numbers...

Long-term holders (LTH) are those who have owned their BTC for more than 155 days, they purchased it before mid-April, while short-term holders ( STH ) bought after the historical high on April 14.

In total, short term holders have amassed 16.8% of bitcoin's supply in the last five months, or about 3.16 million bitcoins.

While long term holders now own 79.5% of bitcoin's supply.

Signs Of What's To Come...

In the graph below, you can see two things: long term holders are at a historical high, and the accumulation of Bitcoin off-exchanges creates a supply shortage that typically triggers a price increase.

"Accumulation highs precede a price high" the report states.

The amount of Bitcoin that moves from short to long term holders per month averages 421,000. This rate is expected to continue into the final quarter of the year, when true scarcity could drive bitcoin to record-breaking prices.

If FOMO kicks in, it all may happen at a record-breaking speed as well.

So - be ready.