Distribution describes holders selling down positions over time, often into demand that initially keeps prices elevated. In market-cycle analysis, it also names a phase interpreted as established holders passing assets to new buyers. It is the counterpart to accumulation, but the label does not identify every seller or prove coordinated behavior.
Selling into demand
A large holder may sell in smaller portions because one large order could move the market against them. If buying absorbs those sales, substantial turnover can occur while price remains within a range. For each completed sale, a buyer acquires the same quantity.
In the Wyckoff framework, analysts often look for distribution after an advance, using price and volume to assess weakening demand and repeated failed attempts to sustain higher prices. This remains an interpretation of the evidence, not direct observation of participants’ intentions.
Distinguishing the meanings
A sideways range need not be distribution and may resolve upward. Exchange deposits can indicate potential selling capacity, but transfers alone do not prove a sale. There is no fixed duration or guaranteed decline afterward.
“Token distribution” can instead mean allocating tokens among users, investors, or a treasury. That issuance-related meaning is separate from this market-selling context.