Bitcoin (BTC) has climbed back to $44,000 for the first time in 19 months – nearly three years since first reaching that value in February 2021.

That doesn’t mean the asset is stagnant, however: on-chain analysis finds that much has changed about the nature of the crypto market, painting a much more bullish outlook this time around.

Bitcoin at $44k: Then VS Now

According to leading Glassnode analyst James Check, $44,000 marked the “absolute zenith of on-chain mania” back in January 2021.

The growing hype was visible by observing Bitcoin’s “Value Days Destroyed” Multiple – a Glassnode metric for detecting whether overheated or undervalued Bitcoin markets.

A higher multiple indicated that long-term investors are finally realizing profits on old, once-dormant coins. Spending of these older coins quickly overpowers demand, “ending euphoric bull runs” according to Glassnode.

In January 2021, Bitcoin’s Value Days Destroyed multiple tapped an all-time high of roughly 4.25. As of Tuesday, however, the multiple remained at a modest 1.52 – and hasn’t come close to its previous record for years.

“Here we are at $44k, and barely a squeak,” wrote Check in an X post on Tuesday. “HODLers are not relinquishing their coins. They demand higher prices.”

Reflexivity Research co-founder Will Clemente echoed the same sentiment, noting that Bitcoin is “far from overvalued based on historic readings.”

He cited Bitcoin’s MVRV ratio – another on-chain metric comparing Bitcoin’s market cap to its on-chain realized cap. The latter measures the total value of all coins based on the last time they were moved, giving a rough idea of each coin’s cost basis.

A high ratio suggests that