According to on-chain investor activity, Bitcoin’s big break above $10,000 is being pushed by a serious increase in demand.

Many are doubting Bitcoin’s most-recent push above $10,000, but on-chain metrics show that this might be just the beginning. Although the top cryptocurrency also saw a drastic rise above $10,000 last summer and reached a high of around $13,000 by late June, this time around looks much different.

According to Willy Woo (@woonomic), on-chain metrics show that “this breakout is the real deal.”

Investor velocity (those that buy and hold) has increased during the same time that Bitcoin’s price broke above $10,000. This same metric was widely used to predict the top last summer, but this time the data is pointing more bullish.

On-chain activity is perhaps the most fundamentals means with which we can judge price movements. Based on buying activity and the number of holders, it would be difficult to argue that this is the top. In fact, the number of holders has been increasing for the past year. BeInCrpyto reported last month that almost 12.6 million BTC has not moved at all in the past 12 months. Clearly, Bitcoin has a growing number of dedicated investors.

These fundamentals are lining up well for Bitcoin’s third halving, expected to take place in May of this year. Long-awaited, it will make Bitcoin twice as scarce as before — and is usually followed by a significantly positive price movement. During the last halving events and the 4-year cycle that followed, Bitcoin rallied 13,378 percent and 12,160 percent respectively.

If these historical trends are followed again, we could see Bitcoin reach as high as $400,00 after halving. However, past events are not predictors of future events, so investors should be cautious of such calls.

Investors will have to keep a close eye on Bitcoin’s on-chain metrics in the next few months. If demand and buying activity continues to rise, we might see Bitcoin slowly build momentum up until its halving event and beyond. So far, the forecast for 2020 looks great for Bitcoin.