Bitcoin Exchange Balances Drop Below 172K BTC as Supply Tightens

The data provided by Glassnode (shared by Phyrex (@Phyrex_Ni)) shows that bitcoin balances on exchanges decreased once again this week. This was a decrease of 0.23 percent or 400 BTC in seven days to bring the total balance to 171.9K BTC as compared to the 172.3K BTC.

Monday Rally Linked to 500 BTC Withdrawal

Monday saw Bitcoin price shoot up by as much as $115,000. At the rally, there was a withdrawal of less than 500 BTC at the exchanges. This was a modest move that led to lessening the balances but they were not a significant buying wave. Rather, it constituted a supply squeeze where the price movement was driven by less sellers.

Bitcoin currently fluctuates at a range of $109,000 to 110,000 or some 5 percent less than a weekly peak. Analysts indicate that there is support at 108000 and resistance at 117,000. The trend is associated with the current post-high consolidations that have been experienced since September.

Price Correction After $115K Peak

Existing balances of 171.9K BTC represent only 0.87 of the total supply of 19.8M BTC. This is equivalent to $18.7B of Bitcoin at current prices versus a market cap of 2.16T. Exchange balances started to move down since 2021, when the exchange balances were over 2.3M BTC, which proves that investors continue accumulating.

The 500 BTC withdrawal corresponds to only 0.29 percent of actual exchange reserves but has an impact on the sentiment. The global trend was strengthened by similar transactions in September 2025 such as 65,000 BTC that left Kraken. The large exchanges in the U.S. and in Asia have lower sell-side supply, indicating that all the regions are acting as strong holders.

Having a smaller supply of coins, the markets become more sensitive to changes in supply. The post establishes that the recent rally did not result due to the inflows of demand but the depreciating exchange balances. Reserves at 171.9K BTC are close to the lowest in four years, increasing the likelihood of volatility with a possible increase in selling returns.