Nearly 40% of all Bitcoin They were bought into trading at prices higher than where they are trading today, leaving a large share of holders to suffer losses.
The figure, cited by analyst Darkvost, embodies the growing pressure across the market as major players pull back from buying and demand shows little sign of recovery.
Slow exit by the biggest players
Whale-sized accounts – those holding between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC – saw a shift in their annual balance growth. negativeAccording to CryptoQuant.
Monthly growth across this group has been essentially flat since February, a pattern that the online analytics firm says mirrors what happened during the bear market of 2022, when prices fell sharply over several months.
Source: CryptoQuant
Slightly smaller but still significant holders, known as dolphins, hold between 100 and 1,000 bitcoins, and include exchange-traded funds and corporate treasury accounts.
Its balances are still growing year-on-year, but the pace has fallen sharply, with monthly growth now hovering near zero and readings recording lower increases since September 2025.
Together, these two groups form the backbone of structural demand in Bitcoin markets, making their slowdown difficult to ignore, CryptoQuant says.
Long-term bondholders are accumulating, but buyers are missing
One number stands out as deceptively optimistic: the supply of long-term bitcoin holders has risen to a record high of 15.8 million bitcoins. On the face of it, this seems like a conviction. But CryptoQuant reads it differently – as a sign that existing holders are watching while new buyers turn away, leaving the market without the new demand needed to push prices higher.
The share of supply experiencing an unrealized loss is sometimes close to 50%, a level not seen since the depths of the economic downturn in 2022, says Tim Sun, a researcher at HashKey Group.
He puts the absolute lower range at $40,000 to $45,000, although he considers $55,000 to $60,000 a more realistic floor – provided the situation between the US and Iran does not worsen and the Fed stops raising interest rates.
BTC continues to trade back and forth within a distribution range between $66,000 and $80,000, with buyers and sellers still fighting for control.
This remains a difficult environment for investors to navigate, with euphoria setting in as Bitcoin approaches the upper limit… pic.twitter.com/8Zr96tDiJ0
– Darkfost (@Darkfost_Coc) May 28, 2026
What does it actually take to recover?
Sun has made it clear that true transformation depends on more than just price action alone. He said the eventual shift toward easier monetary policy and more flexible financial conditions must come first.
Cryptocurrency analyst Darkfost described the current market as… Difficult range For trading, with excitement growing every time Bitcoin approaches the upper limit and pessimism returning as quickly as it declines. At prices around $73,510, the data paints a picture of a market still finding ground.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
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