Non-zero BTC addresses hit all-time high of 40 million

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On-chain statistics through February have suggested positive sentiment for Bitcoin as addresses with a non-zero balance of BTC reached an all-time high.

Additionally, those wallets with a positive BTC balance are increasingly hodling their coins. The amount of BTC circulating supply last moved between three and five years ago reached a four-year high of just over 2.8 million coins, according to data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode.

The number of addresses with a non-zero balance was on a steep increase through 2019 and 2020 until the middle of 2021, when growth appeared to have plateaued at about 35 million addresses. However, growth in this metric has spiked since the beginning of 2022, leading to a new ATH of 40,276,163 according to Glassnode.

The sudden spike in BTC supply that was last active three to five years ago coincides with the peak of the last extended bull market at the beginning of 2018.

Among the addresses with a non-zero balance, Glassnode reported that 817,445 of them have at least one whole BTC, a 10-month high on Feb. 28.

Supply-side dynamics in Bitcoin have provided several metrics of note this past month. FSInsight reported on Feb. 9 that 75% of the BTC circulating supply was illiquid because it had not moved for an extended period of time. The financial research firm’s report described the situation as a “powder keg” that is ready to blow as soon as a moderate amount of BTC is bought on the market.

Related: Bitcoin fails to beat resistance as $40K stays out of reach into weekly close

Political turbulence in Canada and Ukraine in February has also shed more light on Bitcoin’s ability to remain censor-proof. Some Canadians have adopted Bitcoin to protect their funds from being frozen, while the Ukrainian government is now accepting BTC donations as tensions escalate in the region.

BTC is currently trading at $37,827, down around 45% from the Nov. 10, ATH of $69,000 according to CoinGecko.