Traders holding Bitcoin (BTC) for a short time are selling it at a loss at an increasing rate as the 7-day moving average (7DMA) of Net Realized Profit/Loss has dropped to -$410 million, which is 60% worse than last week’s reading of -$256 million.
At the same time, the Short-Term Holder Spent Output Profit Ratio, or STH SOPR, a measure that tracks whether recent buyers are selling above or below what they paid, has stayed in loss territory for nine days in a row.
What the Numbers Show
The Net Realized P/L metric adds up gains and losses on all BTC moved on-chain in a given period. When it’s negative, it means that more value was lost than gained across all transactions, with the 7-day average used by analysts to smooth out daily noise and show underlying trends.
According to one of them, Axel Adler Jr., that trend is still moving in the wrong direction, with the latest 7DMA reading coming in at -$410 million, down from about -$256 million, to mark a $154 million swing in a single week.
The worst reading of the just-concluded first quarter of the year came on February 7, when the 7DMA hit -$1.99 billion, so the current figure is not near that extreme. However, it is the direction of travel that matters, with losses growing again after a relatively calm period.
Another indicator that Adler flagged, the STH SOPR, has sat below 1.0 for nine straight days and is currently at 0.9899. Usually, a reading below 1.0 means that, on average, sellers are taking a loss.
According to the analyst, while the STH SOPR on its own is not a mechanical sell signal, in the past, prolonged readings under 1.0 as is the case right now, have appeared right before both local bottoms and further price drops.
Analysts Warn of Further Downside
The persistence of loss-selling among short-term holders reflects a broader cooling in market sentiment.
Pseudonymous analyst Mr. Wall Street said that he has shifted to a fully bearish stance across both short- and mid-term timeframes, arguing that Bitcoin’s earlier rally from $60,000 to $76,000 was likely used to build liquidity for a larger move lower and adding that he has opened short positions and is targeting potential downside levels between $40,000 and $45,000.
For market participants wishing to know the signs that show pressure is easing, Adler advised them to check when STH SOPR goes back above 1, and Net Realized P/L gets into positive territory at the same time, and for a sustained period.
Bitcoin itself has been trading near $66,000 on April 2, down roughly 30% from its January peak, after a fresh leg lower, following Donald Trump’s statement that military conflict with Iran would continue rather than de-escalate.
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