The amount of Bitcoin held “underwater” in wallets continues to increase, hitting levels never seen in history.
Bitcoin (BTC) is beating records this Christmas as sub-$17,000 price action sparks unrivaled pain for hodlers.
Data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode shows that both short-term and long-term investors are sitting on more losses than ever before.
New or old, Bitcoin hodlers nurse serious losses
Since the FTX meltdown sent crypto markets tumbling, BTC/USD has failed to recover.
Its descent to levels last seen two years ago has created problems for hodlers who bought in more recently — logically, they are nursing negative returns on their positions.
The pain runs deeper than that, however, and Glassnode now shows the extent of unrealized losses plaguing newcomers and old hands alike.
For both short-term holders (STHs) and long-term holders (LTHs), current BTC price levels are a nightmare. STHs and LTHs are defined as entities hodling incoming coins for less than or more than 155 days, respectively.
According to the latest figures, as of Dec. 26, STH bitcoins held at a loss totaled 1,889,585 BTC, with the LTH tally at 6,057,858 BTC.
This is a record in terms of percentage of the Bitcoin supply used by the tool, which excludes BTC held by exchanges.
As Cointelegraph previously reported, hodlers were already in control of over 50% of the supply in unrealized loss immediately following the FTX implosion.
Room for max pain remains
What the future may hold for BTC price action, meanwhile, remains a topic of scrutiny.
Related: Bitcoin exchange withdrawals sink to 7-month low as users forget FTX
While some metrics are calling time on the 2022 bear market, analysts believe that a new macro BTC price bottom is still to come.
A popular target is $10,000 for BTC/USD, this potentially due in Q1, 2023 as weeks of sideways action with hardly any volatility comes to an end in the new year.
In terms of its retracement from all-time highs, however, Bitcoin still has room to fall, having not yet breached the 80% threshold common to previous bear markets.
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