Short-term bitcoin holders suffered the biggest losses since the FTX crash

Bitcoin BTC $87,150.51 Mezo Wrapped BTC -2.46% Market capitalization $44.73 million VOL. 24 hours $3.56 billion has completely lost this year’s growth, dropping to almost zero annualized returns (0.1%), and short-term investors have suffered the deepest losses since the FTX exchange collapse in 2022. The new online data shows that BTC holders who purchased the asset in the past few months are now in the zone of maximum unrealized losses, and the profit-loss ratio among them has plummeted to negative values.

Coindoo analysts note that the situation reflects not just a short-term correction, but rather a «market reset.» In particular, the sharp decline in prices has forced many speculators and highly leveraged traders to liquidate their positions, clearing the system of excessive risk. At the same time, Ethereum fell by 7.2%, indicating the overall weakness of the cryptocurrency market.

Technical traders point to signs of consolidation after a sharp drop: the BTC price attempted to recover, but the movement remains fragile. Most analysts expect a period of sideways trend, when the market will form a base before a potential recovery. According to them, historically, large reversals do not happen instantly but are formed gradually when fear disappears and new liquidity appears.

Despite the pessimism among short-term participants, long-term investors remain calm — their activity is minimal, and the amount of BTC held for more than a year continues to grow. This indicates the accumulation of the asset rather than its sale. Institutional players are also not showing panic, which reflects confidence in bitcoin’s long-term prospects.

Historically, such phases of deep losses by short-term holders have often coincided with the formation of multi-year lows and the start of new growth cycles, as was the case in 2015, 2019, and 2022. Analysts believe that the current period could be another opportunity for long-term investors if volatility declines and liquidity returns to the market.