Liveliness
Ratio of cumulative coin-days destroyed to cumulative coin-days created. Falls during accumulation, rises during distribution.
What is it?
Liveliness is defined as the ratio of cumulative Coin Days Destroyed (CDD) to cumulative Coin Days created since Bitcoin's genesis. Each day, each unspent UTXO accrues one 'coin day.' When a UTXO is spent, its accumulated coin days are 'destroyed.' If Liveliness rises, the network is in a net state of coin day destruction (spending old coins). If it falls, the network accumulates more coin days than it destroys (net HODLing). Introduced by Tamas Blummer in 2018.
How to read
The Liveliness curve ranges between 0 and 1. An upward trend means more temporal value is being destroyed than accumulated - long-term holders are spending. A downward trend means the opposite - the network is HODLing. Look for slope changes rather than absolute levels: a flattening after a prolonged decline may mark the start of a redistribution phase.
Key zones
Liveliness's absolute value is less important than its direction. Historically, prolonged Liveliness decline periods (negative slope over 6+ months) have coincided with bear market accumulation phases. Trend reversals (bearish to bullish switch) have often preceded or accompanied distribution phases associated with cycle tops.
What to observe
Divergence between Liveliness and price is a historically informative indicator. If price rises but Liveliness falls, it means the rally occurs while the network continues accumulating - historically associated with healthy bull market phases. If price rises AND Liveliness rises, old holders are distributing into strength - indication of advanced cycle maturity.
Historical context
Liveliness has shown a secular downward trend since 2012, reflecting the increasing long-term accumulation of Bitcoin supply. Peaks in Liveliness's derivative have precisely coincided with the 2013 (both peaks), 2017, and 2021 tops. The 2022 trough saw Liveliness reach its lowest levels since the metric's creation.
Expert notes
Liveliness is mathematically related to Vaultedness (Cointime Economics) by: Vaultedness = 1 - Liveliness. It serves as a component in calculating DANV (Dormancy-Adjusted Network Value). For advanced analysis, combine Liveliness's first derivative with SOPR to distinguish whether coins 'awakening' Liveliness are being spent at a profit or loss.
Common mistakes to avoid
Rising Liveliness does not mean 'everyone is selling.' It means the coins moved today had on average more coin days than usual. A single movement of a very large and very old UTXO can push Liveliness up without any generalised behaviour change.
Programmatic access
REST API
curl -sS \
'https://api.trinityinsights.io/api/v1/onchain/liveliness/history?days=90' \
-H 'X-API-Key: $TRINITY_API_KEY'MCP server
{
"tool": "get_chart_value",
"metric_id": "liveliness",
"timeframe": "1y"
}Required tier: pro. See the pricing grid for the tier list and the MCP documentation for multi-client configuration.
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Institutional disclaimer
Trinity Insights is an educational and analytical tool. The metric above does not constitute investment advice. Trinity Insights is not a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) registered under MiCA Regulation (EU) 2023/1114. See the full disclaimer.