On-chain signals show Bitcoin holders are increasingly locking in losses even as spot prices have steadied, according to Glassnode research.
In a post on X, Glassnode lead analyst CryptoVizArt highlighted a sharp rise in the 90-day simple moving average (SMA) of Bitcoin’s Realized Loss — an indicator that sums the USD value of losses investors “realize” when they move coins at prices below their acquisition cost. The chart shared by CryptoVizArt uses Glassnode’s entity-adjusted version of Realized Loss, which groups addresses into single investors (“entities”) and only counts transfers between different entities — filtering out intra-entity moves like wallet reorganizations or internal exchange transfers.
Key takeaways:
- The 90-day SMA of entity-adjusted Bitcoin Realized Loss has jumped to roughly $300 million — the highest level since early 2023.
- Smaller capitulation events earlier in this cycle were far less severe: mid-2024 losses never exceeded $100 million, while the early-2025 spike topped out just above that level.
- Despite the recent increase, current loss-taking remains well below the 2022 bear-market peak, when the 90-day SMA of entity-adjusted Realized Loss surpassed $600 million.
- The ongoing rise shows no signs of abating, so the capitulation could still climb higher. One interpretation is that long-term or “top” buyers are growing frustrated by the lack of bullish follow-through since the November crash and are selling to avoid deeper unrealized losses.
Market context: Bitcoin’s price has been volatile in the past 24 hours — briefly rallying above $90,000 before sliding back to about $87,500, wiping out the recovery. That whipsaw produced more than $69 million in liquidations in the Bitcoin derivatives market, per CoinGlass data.
Bottom line: Entity-adjusted on-chain data indicate a meaningful increase in realized losses among distinct investors, signaling a noteworthy capitulation phase that’s continuing even amid relative price stabilization.
Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news
