Crypto miners' bitcoin reserves slid to the lowest point since May following a spate of withdrawals this week, in a sign of mounting selling pressure as the largest cryptocurrency posts a December gain of more than 13%, data from CryptoQuant shows.

Miner reserves measure the number of coins held by the affiliated miners' wallets. The number drops as the coins are moved to crypto exchanges, possibly as a prelude to a sale.

Miners began balancing their books in late October, with reserves entering a decline that accelerated this month. Reserves now number 1.832 million BTC being held by miners, down from October's high of 1.845 million.

In a post on social-media platform X, AliCharts pointed out that miners have sold 3,000 bitcoin [BTC] over the past 24 hours, equating to around $129 million. The cryptocurrency is currently trading at $42,891, down from yesterday's high of $43,710.

The net flow of bitcoin on Dec. 28 stood at minus 1,524 BTC, meaning that withdrawals exceeded new coins being minted, data shows.

Bitcoin will undergo a halving in April, which will see miner rewards slashed to 3.125 BTC per block from 6.25 BTC. Analysts predict that the halving will cause a supply shock with bitcoin potentially reaching $160,000.

Bitcoin Mining Bitcoin Miner

Oliver Knight

Oliver Knight joined CoinDesk as a news reporter in April 2022. Before joining CoinDesk, Knight was the Chief Reporter at Coin Rivet for three years. Having graduated with a journalism degree from Birmingham City University, Knight went on to work at various sports publications before diving into the world of Bitcoin in 2014. He does not have any crypto holdings.