Bitcoin investors who bought recently are moving tens of thousands of coins to cryptocurrency exchanges at a loss, according to on-chain data from CryptoQuant.
CryptoQuant's latest analysis shows approximately 47,300 BTC transferred to exchanges below their acquisition price over 24 hours, compared with only about 1,100 BTC arriving at a profit. The combined inflows stood near 48,500 BTC, valued at around $3.6 billion at Bitcoin's price of approximately $74,000.
CryptoQuant contributor Amr Taha identified two large waves of underwater exchange deposits over the previous week: 50,790 BTC on November 3 and 46,060 BTC on November 10. On November 10, profitable transfers stood near 1,700 BTC, meaning approximately 27 BTC arrived at a loss for every 1 BTC transferred at a profit.
Understanding the Data
CryptoQuant's chart measures transfers to exchanges rather than completed sales. Sending Bitcoin to an exchange can be a first step toward selling, but some deposits are made for trading other tokens, collateral, or other services. The data does not establish exactly how much of the transferred Bitcoin was subsequently sold.
The data tracks short-term holders, a group CryptoQuant generally defines as investors holding Bitcoin for less than 155 days. These investors are often most exposed to sudden price reversals, particularly when their holdings are worth less than they paid.
Recent Price Movement and Unrealized Losses
Bitcoin has been sliding from late-September highs above $85,000 into the $73,000-to-$74,000 range. A newer buyer who paid $80,000 would face a paper loss of roughly 7.5% with Bitcoin at $74,000.
The recent weakness is not limited to short-term holders. Data identified approximately 4 million BTC held by longer-term investors that had been acquired between $85,000 and $118,000, potentially representing another pocket of underwater supply above current prices.
Exchange Activity
A separate CryptoQuant chart tracking Binance deposits by the time since each Bitcoin last moved on-chain shows 8,114 BTC arriving from coins last moved one day to one week earlier on November 3. On November 9, the platform also received 1,925 BTC from coins last moved one to three months earlier.
