The old supply of Bitcoin continues to move to ETFs: Data shows three waves so far.

On-chain data reveals that the (ETF) Bitcoin spot funds have experienced three significant waves of inflows from veteran hands during this cycle.

The Destroyed Bitcoin Coin-Days increased alongside the net inflows in ETFs

According to the author of CryptoQuant, Maartunn, in a new post on X, Bitcoin has been observing significant reorganizations related to old tokens and spot ETFs. These investment vehicles that operate on traditional platforms allow investors to gain exposure to assets like BTC without directly owning them.

The spot BTC ETFs were launched in the U.S. in January 2024. Since then, the funds have generally enjoyed growth, with some periods involving a particularly strong increase in inflows. The main appeal is that investors who are not very familiar with the world of cryptocurrencies can invest in BTC in a way that is convenient for them.

When an investor bets on these vehicles, the fund buys an equivalent amount of the cryptocurrency on behalf of the client, reflecting as an on-chain movement to the wallets associated with the ETF.

The chart shared by Maartunn shows the trend of the net flow of Bitcoin ETFs over 30 days since the beginning of 2024.

As shown, the net flow has experienced some phases of extremely positive values, corresponding to a high demand for ETFs.

Interestingly, there is a common pattern among these large waves of inflows. From the chart, it is visible that the Coin Days Destroyed (CDD) gave signals of distribution along with the peaks of net flow.

The CDD is an on-chain indicator that measures the total number of coin-days that are being “destroyed” in transactions across the BTC network. A coin-day is an amount that a BTC accumulates after remaining inactive on the blockchain for a day. When a dormant token is moved after a certain number of days, its coin-day counter resets to zero, with the coin-days it had accumulated considered “destroyed.”

Generally, the spikes in this metric correspond to the activity of the strong hands in the network. These HODLers tend to accumulate a massive amount of coin-days with their patience, so when they finally break their silence, a large-scale destruction of coin-days occurs.

The three main waves of net inflows into Bitcoin ETFs in the summer of 2024, autumn of 2024, and summer of 2025 accompanied a distribution signal of the CDD, suggesting a rotation of coins from veteran hands towards new demand through these vehicles.

Since the last wave, the net flow of ETFs has calmed to a neutral level, meaning that demand has cooled. “Inflows into ETFs are key,” notes Maartunn. “Without strong new demand, the selling pressure from new holders could increase.”

BTC Price

As of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $110,500, with a 2% increase over the last week.

Notice: For informational purposes only. Past performance does not indicate future results.