The leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has seen a pullback to $93,000 after briefly reaching a high of $99,000 earlier this week.
This decline marks the longest losing streak for the digital asset since the surge sparked by Donald Trump’s election victory.
With Bitcoin’s price now at $93,346, down 5.0% in the last 24 hours, market observers and traders may have to wait longer for the cryptocurrency to break the much-anticipated $100,000 barrier.
The recent drop in Bitcoin’s value affects the broader cryptocurrency market, which has seen a 3.8% retracement in the past day. As Bitcoin’s movements often influence other altcoins, the price fluctuations are rippling throughout the crypto sector.
Despite this downturn, data reveals that long-term Bitcoin holders are still in profit and actively cashing out. During the recent bullish rally fueled by Trump’s election win, Bitcoin surpassed its all-time high multiple times, prompting long-term holders to take profits.
This resulted in a significant increase in selling pressure, with on-chain data showing an average of 25.6k BTC sold per day, the highest rate since April 2024.
A blockchain data provider, Glassnode, recently noted this uptick in selling activity, sharing its findings with the X community. “Things are getting heated! #Bitcoin long-term holders have come out in force, with selling pressure hitting -366K #BTC/month—the highest since April 2024,” Glassnode tweeted.
The selling pressure from long-term holders has been absorbed by spot Bitcoin ETFs, which have seen over $7 billion in inflows since the US elections, pushing their total valuation to $105 billion.
Despite this substantial investment, Bitcoin’s price has not surged past the $100,000 mark, leading to speculation about the role of long-term holders in the market’s stagnation.
A senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, Eric Balchunas, explained why large investments in Bitcoin ETFs have not translated into a price rally. “I see a lot of CT baffled/frustrated as to how Saylor can buy $5b of BTC but the price doesn’t move up, which is the same thing I hear sometimes about ETFs after big flows. The issue is coming from inside the house—it’s long-term holders,” Balchunas said.
The 12-spot Bitcoin ETFs, launched earlier this year, are the first of their kind for a cryptocurrency. These funds allow institutional investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin’s price movements without directly holding the asset. They have been a key driver of market activity, with notable participation from major financial asset managers such as BlackRock and Fidelity.
