My only question is why long term holders would think to sell at all? My reasoning is if they are long term holders then they must have been exposed to the ethics and culture that underlies bitcoin.

They experienced the upward benefits over the long term so outright selling for the sake of selling would not be rational. Perhaps they are using their money, sure, but for what do you use millions and in some cases billions of dollars?

I can only justify it with the purchasing of stocks so the liquidity is rotating into stocks. The question remains though, why take money out to put into an asset that grows at a lower rate of return?

In addition, now its easier to get a loan on your bitcoin than ever before. So what's the deal?