$6.3bn of Bitcoins shifted to exchanges as their glow fades

BILLIONS of dollars of Bitcoins were transferred to cryptocurrency exchanges last month in a sign of falling confidence in the digital asset.

Companies that “mine” for Bitcoins shifted about 195,663 coins to exchanges in May, the biggest monthly increase since January, according to data from Coin Metrics compiled by Compass Mining.

Based on Bitcoin’s average price of around $32,000 (£26,000) in May, the total value of the tokens was about $6.3bn.

Transferring coins to exchanges can precede a sale, but does not necessarily mean the coins will be sold.

Bitcoin’s price has dropped about 35pc this year amid a wider sell-off in cryptocurrencies and NFTS.

Many large-scale miners have become cash-strapped this year as it became harder to raise capital through debt or stock sales during a bear market.

Shares of public miners have been hit hard this year. Riot Blockchain has fallen by 72pc since December, while Marathon Digital Holdings has slumped a similar amount.