Bitcoin and Ether balances on centralized exchanges have fallen to levels not seen in years, a trend long viewed as a sign of tighter liquid supply and lower near-term selling pressure. Santiment data cited earlier by Cointelegraph showed Bitcoin exchange supply at its lowest level since 2017 and Ether at its lowest since 2015. Analysts now say the metric has become less reliable as a standalone price signal because more crypto is being held in institutional custody, exchange-traded funds, DeFi protocols and other on-chain uses, while more BTC and ETH are also being accumulated by companies seeking long-term price appreciation.