It's been almost four months since Bitcoin nearly touched $69,000—an all-time high—and, according to a new report, it now appears that most top-of-the-market buyers have since unloaded their coins.
According to on-chain analytics provider Glassnode, more than half of the coins once bought for about $60,000 have since been resold for about $35,000 to $38,000. Meanwhile, multiple indicators showed remarkably strong hands from long-term holders, even in the face of geopolitical conflict.
The Glassnode report zoomed in on Bitcoin’s UTXO Realized Price Distribution (URPD) on significant dates last year, comparing them to today. URPD essentially tracks the prices at which existing Bitcoin last moved on-chain. This data can be useful for identifying how many buyers profited—or find themselves underwater.
For example, on May 10, Bitcoin URPD was highly concentrated in the $54,000 to $60,000 range, followed by a massive price drop, which Glassnode described as a “weak hand to strong hand distribution event,” meaning newer buyers were selling to more experienced holders.
When Bitcoin returned to similar highs in November, URPD was more evenly distributed around the $35,000, $47,000, and $62,000 areas. Many who bought from May to July sold BTC at a profit from August to November, the report shows.
Despite Bitcoin’s slow, steady decline below $40,000 over the following months, the distribution pattern has remained mostly intact. However, to the degree that redistribution did occur, it came from a capitulation of $60,000 buyers to other holders near $35,000.
“This spending behaviour describes a market dominated by price insensitive HODLers, who appear unwilling to liquidate their coins, even if held at a loss,” the report says. “Meanwhile top buyers have been significantly flushed out, and represent a far smaller proportion of the investor cohort when compared to May-July 2021.”
Other data shows that HODLers, a crypto community term for dedicated long-term investors, are holding steady, even as other market participants get flushed. For instance, exchange withdrawal levels have remained steady since July, while deposit levels are falling—meaning the market is increasingly dominated by buyers who don’t plan to sell soon.