A wave of short-term holder capitulation is now driving Bitcoin’s price lower, reinforcing bearish pressure, analysts at Glassnode warn.
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) is now under strong selling pressure as short-term holders have started offloading their coins at a loss, much like past market downturns, according to a Glassnode research report.
Since January, the accumulation trend has remained weak, showing that buyers aren’t stepping in to absorb the sell-off.
The decline has lined up with Bitcoin’s slide from $108,000 to $93,000, what has triggered concerns about fading demand, Glassnode wrote in a March 11 report. Market confidence weakened further in late February as external risks, including the Bybit cyberattack and rising U.S. tariff tensions, added uncertainty.
“Unlike the earlier phase, there was no significant dip-buying response this time, indicating that sentiment had shifted toward risk aversion and capital preservation rather than continued accumulation.”
Glassnode
Short-term holders are taking the biggest hit as Bitcoin’s price drops, the data shows. Since falling below $95,000, most recent buyers have been selling at a loss. At its worst, the selling pressure pushed the short-term holder spent output profit ratio — tracks if short-term holders sell at profit or loss — to 0.97 when Bitcoin crashed to $78,000, showing the extent of the panic.
Another key metric, short-term holder coin days destroyed, confirms panic-driven selling, Glassnode says, adding that the recent sell-off by top buyers “has driven this indicator to -12.8K coin days per hour, reflecting intense loss realization and a moderate capitulation event.”
“A similar pattern emerged in August 2024, when Bitcoin plunged to $49k amid market stress and macro uncertainty. The current structure suggests a comparable capitulation phase.”
Glassnode
With Bitcoin now trading near key cost-basis levels, the analysts suggested that the market could enter a consolidation phase before finding firm support.
