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Investors exited bitcoin (BTC) positions worth a record $7.3 billion over the past few days, amounting to the biggest U.S. dollar denominated losses in the asset’s history, data from analytics firm Glassnode shows.
Realized loss denotes the total loss (USD value) of all moved coins whose price at their last movement was higher than the price at the current movement, as per Glassnode. The tool can be used to measure how many coins moved at any particular price.
Approximately 555,000 BTC have changed hands between prices of $18,000 and $23,000, a strong support and resistance level respectively for the asset ranged over the past few days, the firm said. Losses ranged between $1.5 billion and $2 billion each day, data shows.
Long-term holders, or those holding BTC for a period longer than 155 days, liquidated over 178,000 BTC at prices below $23,000, the data showed. However, these liquidations accounted for only 1.31% of the total holdings.
As per blockchain data, some of these holders purchased their coins at $69,000, bitcoin’s lifetime high, and sold at $18,000, taking on a loss of nearly 75%, Glassnode said.
Such liquidations could have contributed to bitcoin falling to under $20,000 over the weekend. Bitcoin fell to as low as $18,319 a coin while its market capitalization slumped to about $350 billion, a 73% decline from its November all-time high, as previously reported.
Bitcoin saw resistance at $21,000 on Monday morning after a relief rally saw some $2,000 added to prices over the past 24 hours. The $21,000 level has acted as support in the past weeks, price-charts show.
In broader futures markets, bitcoin futures racked up some $436 million in liquidations over the past three days. Long options, or bets on higher prices, took on a majority of these losses, data from Coinglass shows.
The move came as bitcoin fell steeply last week amid a fall in the broader equity market as inflation exceeded analyst estimates and the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) hiked rates by 75 basis points – the highest in 28 years.
Meanwhile, Glassnode analysts said data at current price levels suggested a market bottom. “we can see that as prices hit the $17,000 lows yesterday, just 49% of the $BTC supply was in profit,” the firm said in a tweet citing its Percent Supply in Profit tool.
“Historical bear markets have bottomed and consolidated with between 40% and 50% of supply in profit,” Glassnode said.
However, traders remain cautious with some stating that macroeconomic conditions must improve and the Fed’s aggressive approach to monetary policy should subside before crypto markets see a bottom.
