Who are the true Bitcoin holders?

Let's first look at how the traditional real estate market operates. Demand is divided into three levels: the bottom is essential needs (just needing a place to live), the middle is investors (buying to appreciate), and the top is leveraged speculators (using leverage to boost returns). The fundamental needs support transaction volume and price stability, the middle layer expands trading depth, and finally, the top layer uses leverage to push the market upward. Each layer plays its role, and only then can a bull market run.

The BTC market follows this same logic. Having only on-chain activity is not enough; there must be genuine holders who keep their coins (bottom-layer demand), investors gradually entering the market (middle-layer demand), and finally, financial instruments like futures and leverage accelerating the trend (top-layer demand). Conviction Buyers—that is, these faith-based holders—are the foundation of the ecosystem. Without their long-term locking of coins, without counterparties and trading volume support, the leveraged speculation above would have nowhere to exert influence.