TL;DR

• Bitcoin (BTC) has risen above $38,000 as BTC’s supply on exchanges drops to 5.38%, the lowest since December 2017, amid declining trust in exchanges following events like FTX’s collapse and Binance’s legal troubles.
• The trend towards BTC self-custody is seen as bullish, contributing to Bitcoin’s significant rally of 130% since the year’s start.
• Analyst PlanB forecasts Bitcoin reaching $65,000 after the 2024 halving and soaring to $524,000 by 2027, anticipating a more robust bull cycle than in 2021.

BTC Self-Custody on the Rise

Bitcoin’s recent price uptrend above the $38,000 level has coincided with another interesting development surrounding the primary cryptocurrency. According to Sentiment, BTC’s supply on exchanges has plunged to 5.38%. Such a low mark was last observed in December 2017.

The aforementioned trend might be a result of the undermined reputation of cryptocurrency exchanges. Recall that several marketplaces have collapsed in the past few years, with FTX being the brightest example. The trading venue, formerly spearheaded by the notorious Sam Bankman-Fried, filed for bankruptcy in 2022, prompting multi-billion dollar losses for investors.

Most recently, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange – Binance – was also shaken after settling money-laundering charges against the US DOJ and agreeing to pay a whopping $4.3 billion fine. On top of that, its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), departed from his position and was replaced by Richard Teng.

Switching toward self-custody methods is usually considered a bullish move since it reduces immediate selling pressure. 

The leading digital asset has in