• The entertainment industry is growing bullish about the Bitcoin story expecting the BTC price to trade above $1 million in the future.
• But Bitcoin on-chain data and miner activity shows that the short-term story is concerning.

Earlier this week, the world’s largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) rallied past $20,500 levels leading to major talk that the next bull run in Bitcoin will start very soon. Bitcoin has yet to continue its momentum and break above its 200 DMA for any chances of rally ahead.

But this hasn’t stopped Bitcoin believers from predicting the long-term price of BTC. For a very long time, the Bitcoin community is optimistic that the BTC price will touch $1 million sometime in the future, and maybe within a decade.

Zac Efron’s latest movie “Gold” released earlier this year shows a scene from the future where Bitcoin is trading at a price of $1.25 million. It seems that the entertainment industry is quite captivated by the Bitcoin story and bullish for its future. Of course, no one knows the future. However, the fact that filmmakers have started talking about BTC shows how widespread is the Bitcoin craze.

Bitcoin for now – On-chain data

It’s always a difficult task to tell where the BTC price could be heading next. But let’s have a look at the on-chain data to understand what’s happening. As per the Glassnode report, the active address growth for Bitcoin has stagnated. The total number of BTC transactions on the blockchain has dropped which could play a spoilsport in the BTC price expansion.

The total number of non-zero BTC addresses has also been on a decline. The last time this happened was in November 2018, it was followed by a Bitcoin price correction.

Bitcoin miners could trigger major selling

With the Bitcoin price struggling around $20,000 for quite some time, Bitcoin miners are finding it very challenging to continue their operations. Earlier this year, Bitcoin miners sold their BTC reserves in large quantities and this scenario could repeat once again.

On the other hand, Bitcoin mining production costs are on the rise with energy costs shooting significantly. Glassnode said that BTC miners have been deleveraging by selling their newly mined Bitcoins. They added:

Deleveraging events of miners may lead to distribution into thin order books, historically light demand, and persistent macroeconomic uncertainty and liquidity constraints.

In very sad news, the world’s largest Bitcoin miner Core Scientific is planning to file for bankruptcy by the year-end as it runs out of cash. In its filing with the U.S. SEC on Thursday, the Bitcoin mining giant said they are finding it increasingly difficult to continue operations.

As per reports, Core Scientific won’t be able to make pending payments due in October end and early November 2022. The company is exploring alternatives to raising fresh capital, hiring strategic advisers, and restructuring its existing capital structure.

Bitcoin exchange outflows

While the bear market continues, Bitcoin whales have been taking this opportunity to fill their bags. The net BTC outflows from crypto exchanges have spiked in recent weeks.