Cryptocurrencies have been in a bear trend during the last year, something that has affected the whole crypto market. Bitcoin, for example, moved from $20,000 in December 2017 to $3,200 in December 2018. Nevertheless, there are some blockchain analysts that believe that the bear market is going to reach an end.

The independent research boutique, Delphi Digital, realized a deep investigation regarding Bitcoin, its price and its transactions. According to their results, Bitcoin (BTC) investors are done with their selling.

This means that we are currently entering a phase of accumulation in which companies and investors start saving as many coins as possible for the next bull run. This is similar to what happened in 2014 when the price of the most popular digital asset dropped from $1,000 down to $200. Apparently, selling pressure from long-term investors has decreased during the last weeks.

A spokesperson of Delphi Digital commented about it during a conversation with Hard Fork:

“In its simplest form, it’s a method to understand the accumulation and selling patterns of long term holders through market cycles. We’ve established that selling pressure from long term holders is significantly tapped, and accumulation has begun.”

The information gathered by this company uses data from Bitcoin transactions such as Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO). Every single transaction in the network creates a UTXO that represents the last time that a Bitcoin was moved.

When Bitcoin UTXO falls, Bitcoin activity grows. That means that holders are getting rid of their coins, using them or selling them. However, when price decline, investors accumulate digital assets and wait for a new bull run that would let them grow their portfolios.

The graphics provided by the company show that a significant amount of coins have not been moved in the last year. According to this data, more than 50% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply has not been used during the past year.

The analysts believe that there is an accumulation process that is similar to the one experienced during 2014. This is also related to a bottom in the crypto market. Around 20% of the coins might be locked away forever due to their owners losing the private keys.

According to the spokesperson, there are between 2.78 and 3.79 million coins that seem to be lost forever.

Finally, the analysts think that the market is expected to bottom as soon as the first quarter of 2019 and start a period of recovery in the next year.