Definition. This chart compares the yearly balance change of mid-sized entity cohorts against the volume of BTC mined over the same period, providing a relative measure of the amount of new issuance which was theoretically absorbed by each cohort: Fish (entities holding 10-100 BTC, teal), Shark (100-1k BTC, blue), and their Combined absorption rate (line).

Technical. Each cohort's absorption rate is its 365-day balance change divided by the 365-day change in circulating supply (i.e. coins mined over the past year):

• Absorption Rate (%) = diff(Cohort Supply, 365) / diff(Circulating Supply, 365)
• Combined Rate = Fish Rate + Shark Rate

Price is shown in grey for reference.

Interpretation. Note that values over 100% are possible as coins can be transferred from other investor cohorts (e.g. Whales to Shrimps, or Exchanges to Fish).

• Values over 100% indicate that the cohort increased their aggregate balance by more than all coins mined in the past year, and thus acted as a net absorbing balance.

• Values near 0% indicate that the cohort's aggregate balance was approximately flat over the last year.

• Values below 0% indicate that the cohort aggregate balance decreased over the past year, and was distributed alongside newly issued coins.

These mid-sized cohorts sit between retail and institutional scale — often high-net-worth individuals, funds and early adopters — so their absorption behavior indicates whether sophisticated capital is accumulating or distributing relative to fresh issuance.

Notes. For more information, please see our research report where this metric was first featured: The Shrimp Supply Sink: Revisiting the Distribution of Bitcoin Supply. The neighboring cohorts are charted in Yearly Absorption Rates (Shrimp to Fish) and (Shark to Whale), with Exchanges and Miners as institutional counterparts.