Glassnode Sees ‘Rare Shift’ Among Bitcoiners Selling at a Loss

Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent price drop appears to be sparking more than just nervousness among short-term traders. Data from analysis platform Glassnode shows that investors who normally hold on to their coins for years are showing remarkable restraint during the current dip. What does this mean for the Bitcoin price?

Experienced investors sell at a loss

During the crash at the beginning of this month, during which BTC even briefly fell below $60,000, many long-term holders remained remarkably cautious. According to data from Glassnode, they bought less than during previous corrections, such as during the collapse of crypto exchange FTX or the LUNA crash in 2022.

An important indicator, the so-called Long-Term Holder Spent Output Profit Ratio (LTH-SOPR), even fell below the value of 1. This means that this group of investors is currently selling their Bitcoin at a loss. Glassnode calls that a “rare shift in belief that normally only occurs in deeper phases of bear markets.”

The long-term holders are often seen as the foundation of the market. These are Bitcoin addresses whose coins have not been moved for more than 155 days.

Glassnode uses that limit because on-chain analysis shows that after approximately 155 days the chance that a coin will be moved decreases significantly. But this group is now showing signs of weakness for the first time in a long time.

Selling among long-term investors is accompanied by a lot of uncertainty. The popular Fear & Greed Index, which measures how investors feel on a scale of 0 to 100, is currently at 10. This indicates a phase of ‘extreme fear’.

Analyst: ‘Best buying opportunity since 2020’

Yet not everyone sees the current situation as negative. According to analyst Kaleo, the recent decline actually offers opportunities. “I still believe this is the best buying opportunity for Bitcoin since early 2020,” he writes on X.

“Waiting any longer to stack is just greedy at this point.” On his shared graph, Kaleo shows how previous corrections, such as in March 2020, turned out to be ideal entry points. He now also expects a strong recovery as soon as market sentiment turns.

That said, it is certainly possible that BTC falls even further. No one knows exactly what will happen. But history shows that periods of panic and extreme fear often coincide with soil formation.