Short-term Bitcoin holders moved over 10,000 BTC to exchanges at a loss as bearish pressure intensified.
Bitcoin News
Bitcoin (BTC) dropped to $76,500 on May 19 after fresh geopolitical tensions soured market sentiment. The decline prompted a wave of selling from investors who had bought in at higher prices over the prior weeks.
On-chain data from CryptoQuant showed more than 10,000 BTC was transferred to exchanges by short-term holders on May 19. Short-term holders are defined as investors who have held Bitcoin for fewer than 155 days. Those transfers were made at an average entry price of $78,440, against a spot price near $76,900 at the time, representing an average loss of roughly 2%.
The total value of those transfers came to approximately $769 million. CryptoQuant analyst Amr Tah described the activity as a sign of "short-term holder stress, forced selling, or capitulation from weaker hands during a correction." A similar pattern appeared in mid-November 2025, ahead of a 15% price drop that took BTC from $96,000 to $78,400 in under five days.
Supply Overhang Weighs on Recovery Outlook
Separate data from Glassnode shows more than 7.8 million BTC are currently held at a loss. Analysts noted that the market would need to absorb that supply before any sustained recovery could gain structural support. Institutional flows also turned negative, with US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recording net outflows of $648.6 million on May 18, the largest single-day withdrawal since Jan. 29. Those products have posted negative flows in six of the last eight sessions.
Global Bitcoin investment products saw $981.5 million in net outflows during the week ending May 15. MN Capital founder Michaël van de Poppe said on X that BTC "doesn't look great" and that the $74,500-$76,000 range must hold to preserve any near-term momentum. He warned that a failure at that level would likely send the price below $65,000.
On the technical side, BTC printed its fifth consecutive daily red candle as of May 19. Analyst Alex Marzell wrote on X that momentum had shifted toward the bears, flagging a potential retest of the $70,000 breakout zone. Analyst Alek_Carter added that "money is rotating out fast" and that traders were "hitting the risk-off button hard."
The Bitcoin HODL Waves indicator, which tracks the age distribution of holdings, points to a potential cycle bottom between $65,500 and $70,500 if current conditions persist. CryptoQuant analyst Sunny Mom noted on May 19 that the long-term holder base is structurally stronger in the current cycle than in previous ones. "If $70.5K holds, we'll slowly grind out a bottom in the upper range," the analyst wrote.
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