Bitcoin miners have executed a significant withdrawal of approximately 36,000 BTC from cryptocurrency exchanges since the beginning of February 2026, according to a report from CryptoQuant. This volume stands out when compared to earlier months and suggests a strategic shift in how miners are managing their holdings.
The data reveals that more than 12,000 BTC was withdrawn from Binance alone, with the remaining 24,000 BTC distributed across several other exchanges. This broad-based activity indicates coordinated repositioning across the mining sector rather than isolated actions by a single entity. Such transfers are typically associated with moving assets to long-term cold storage, reducing the immediate supply of Bitcoin available for sale on spot markets and often interpreted as a sign of confidence in future price appreciation.
CryptoQuant further noted that daily withdrawal intensity accelerated during this period. On one day, more than 6,000 BTC was moved off exchanges, marking the highest single-day total since November 2025. The withdrawal levels in February are substantially higher than those observed in January, reinforcing the view of active miner repositioning.
This miner activity coincides with other on-chain data showing sustained faith from long-term holders, who accumulated 380,104 BTC over the past 30 days. However, the market context remains challenging. Bitcoin's price has struggled, falling near $60,000 in early February and posting a decline of over 28% in the past month, according to CoinGecko. At the time of reporting, BTC was trading just under $70,000.
Analysts at VanEck describe the 2026 downtrend as an "orderly deleveraging" rather than a sudden collapse, noting that futures open interest has dropped by about 20%, suggesting leveraged positions are being reduced in a controlled manner. The market performance has also been shaped by institutional outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs, macroeconomic pressure, and new tax compliance factors like the IRS 1099-DA form. The Federal Reserve has maintained interest rates near 3.75% amid 2.4% inflation.
