Bitcoin short-term holders send 47K BTC to exchanges at a loss

Bitcoin's price plummeted to an 11-week low of $72,670 on Tuesday, causing short-term holders to move over 47,000 BTC to exchanges at a loss. These holders, who typically hold Bitcoin for up to 155 days, transferred coins worth less than their purchase price. CryptoQuant, an onchain analytics platform, reported that this was one of the largest single-day totals in the past four months.

The metric tracks Bitcoin held by short-term investors, often more inclined to sell during price declines. Notably, profitable transfers were near 1,700 BTC, with approximately 27 BTC moving at a loss for every 1 BTC transferred profitably. The largest 24-hour inflows of BTC with unrealized losses occurred on Oct. 8 after Bitcoin fell back to $80,000.

Short-term holders' aggregate unrealized profits turned into losses in August after Bitcoin rebounded to $80,000. Analyst Julio Moreno from CryptoQuant noted that Bitcoin might still be in the downtrend initiated in November 2025, suggesting that a sustained break below $73,000 followed by a failed retest could indicate a continuation of the bear market.