Short-term holders (STHs) are now almost entirely underwater on their recent bitcoin purchases. Glassnode defines STHs as entities that have held bitcoin for less than 155 days.
On June 15 (155 days ago), bitcoin was trading at $104,000, meaning nearly all coins acquired since then sit above current spot levels.
Glassnode data shows that 2.8 million BTC held by STHs are at a loss, the highest level since the FTX collapse in November 2022, when bitcoin traded near $15,000 per coin.
Bitcoin is now down roughly 25% from its October all time high, which is well within the typical 20% to 30% range for bull market corrections. In contrast with STHs, long term holders (LTHs) have continued distributing. Glassnode data shows that LTH supply has fallen from 14,755,530 BTC in July to 14,302,998 BTC as of Nov. 16, a reduction of 452,532 BTC.
“Many long-standing holders have chosen to sell in 2025 after many years of accumulation,” Bitcoin OG and Fragrant Board Director Nicholas Gregory said.
“These sales are mostly lifestyle driven rather than motivated by negative views of the asset, and that the launch of the U.S. ETFs and a $100,000 price target created an attractive and highly liquid window to sell.”
This decline in bitcoin has created a notable divergence with the U.S. spot bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs) which have shown remarkable stability. U.S. ETF assets under management (AUM) remain near their all-time highs when measured in BTC terms. The current AUM stands at 1.33 million BTC compared with the peak of 1.38 million BTC on Oct. 10 a 3.6% decrease, according to checkonchain.
Measuring AUM in BTC rather than dollars avoids distortions from price volatility. This divergence suggests that the recent price decline is not being primarily driven by ETF outflows but by longer term holders.