Bitcoin advocate and Casa co-founder Jameson Lopp has stirred a fresh debate in the crypto community, challenging the common belief that miners are a key source of sell pressure in the market.
The conversation kicked off after Lopp tweeted: “Corporate treasuries are buying more BTC than is mined each day!”
However, he quickly followed it up with a key clarification: “So what? Newly issued bitcoin is unrelated to market depth and volume. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to what’s available on various trading platforms.”
That remark caught the attention of several users who pointed out that even newly mined Bitcoin contributes to “natural sell pressure.” One user responded: “The natural sell pressure is a data point and it’s interesting.”
Lopp wasn’t convinced by that logic. He fired back, stating: “Natural sell pressure? You think miners are sellers? Miners are hodlers and sell as little BTC as possible.”
This sparked more responses from users questioning his claim. Another user replied: “Isn’t selling bitcoin their only revenue source? I’d imagine big miners have big costs, no?”
As the thread gained traction, Bitcoin Capital joined the discussion, sharing a chart and noting that miners appear to be slowly but steadily running out of Bitcoin.
The chart seemed to imply that miners have been reducing their Bitcoin holdings over time, a point often used to back claims of increasing sell pressure from mining operations.
But Lopp immediately pushed back: “No, this is a highly flawed chart that ALWAYS goes down for recent time-frames and later gets adjusted upward as more addresses are linked. It’s a worthless chart for recent data.”
Why This Debate Matters
As institutional demand for Bitcoin grows, with ETFs and corporate treasuries reportedly buying more BTC than is mined daily, market watchers are paying closer attention to supply-side dynamics. People often assume that miners are constantly selling Bitcoin, adding daily pressure on the market. But Jameson Lopp doesn’t agree.
According to him, two things are being misunderstood: one, most miners actually try to hold onto their Bitcoin instead of selling it right away. And two, the popular charts showing miners’ BTC reserves can be misleading, especially in the short term, because they don’t immediately track all linked addresses.
Yes, miners earn Bitcoin through block rewards and transaction fees, and they do have big costs like electricity. So some selling is expected. But Lopp believes that major miners are likely holding more than people think, especially when the market is strong.
If accurate, this could mean less “natural” sell pressure than what’s generally priced in by retail or institutional investors. With daily issuance already capped and halving events cutting supply every four years, the bigger factor might be who’s accumulating, not who’s selling.
Jameson Lopp’s comments have reignited the debate around miner behavior and market sell pressure. While some continue to argue that miners must sell to survive, Lopp maintains that they are among the strongest hodlers in the ecosystem.
Also Read: Veteran Trader Peter Brandt Gives Golden Advice As Bitcoin Nears ATH
