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