bitcoin It bottomed at around $103,500 on Friday, marking an 18% correction from its all-time high of $126,200 reached on October 6. This lines up with a standard bull market correction, where bitcoin typically retraces around 20%, a pattern that has defined the current cycle since it began in 2023.
The main source of selling pressure in the market is existing bitcoin holders, according to analyst Checkmate.
“The sheer volume of selling pressure from existing bitcoin holders is not yet widely appreciated, but has been the source of resistance. No manipulation, no paper bitcoins, no suppression. Just good old-fashioned sellers,” Checkmate noted.
The first graph illustrates the reactivated supply, which refers to the total number of coins that are returned to circulation after having been dormant for a certain period of time. Reactivated supply has recently reached its second highest level of the cycle at $2.9 billion per day.
Notably, 47% of the selling pressure comes from coins held for six months to a year, suggesting that many investors who bought bitcoin in late 2024 and particularly during its drop to around $76,000 in April following tariff-related market reactions are now making profits.
The second chart highlights a similar trend across the average age of coins spent, which has continued to increase throughout this cycle. At the start of the cycle in 2023, the average age of coins spent was 26 days, a relatively young age, but it has now increased to 100 days. This indicates that older coins are increasingly worn down as holders choose to make a profit.
In support of this profit-taking narrative, Checkmate also shows that realized profits have risen to approximately $1.7 billion per day, one of the highest levels seen this cycle. Meanwhile, realized losses have also risen to $430 million per day, the third-highest level of the cycle, a high level of capitulation.
Overall, the data suggests that profit-taking remains the dominant market behavior, and this continued selling pressure is weighing on the price of bitcoin.
