Bitcoin miners have been increasing their selling activity in response to sluggish demand growth for BTC over the past month. This decline in demand is evident from the reduced interest of Bitcoin whales, decreased purchases from spot exchange-traded funds in the United States, and the Coinbase premium dropping below zero. If this trend persists and miners' profitability turns negative, the price of BTC could face further downward pressure.

Miners Step up Selling Activity

After the completion of the halving on April 19, miners have been transferring a large amount of BTC to spot exchanges, causing an imbalance in the market. Their earnings have substantially declined following the halving event that reduced block rewards by 50%. Currently, mining entities are offloading their assets to meet operational expenses. Should this practice continue and miners' profitability diminish, the price of BTC might experience increased selling pressure.

Surge in Miner Selling Activity Overshadows Demand

The elevated selling activity by miners has resulted in a surplus of BTC supply over demand. Julio Moreno, the head of research at CryptoQuant, highlighted that the total BTC balance on over-the-counter (OTC) desks began rising after the crypto's price peaked at $73,000 in mid-March. Since then, the OTC supply has been steadily increasing, reaching its highest level since November 2022, while demand has decelerated.

Slowing Demand for BTC

The monthly growth in demand for BTC among long-term holders has dropped by 50%, falling from 200,000 BTC in late March to 96,000 BTC at the time of this report. Demand growth from speculative sources has also slowed down, indicating a general decline in interest. These factors, coupled with the increased selling pressure from miners, could exert downwards pressure on BTC prices in the near future.