Bitcoin speculators sent $7B to exchanges at a loss in BTC price crash

Bitcoin (BTC) short-term holders moved nearly 80,000 BTC to exchanges at a loss as BTC/USD hit 15-week lows.

The latest data from onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant hints at the largest loss-making sell-off of 2025.

Bitcoin speculators capitulate below cost basis

Bitcoin short-term holders (STHs) — entities hodling for up to 155 days — appear to have capitulated in fear during the latest crypto market downturn.

As BTC/USD fell to near $86,000 on Feb. 25, these speculators sent a giant 79,300 BTC ($7 billion) to exchange wallets in a 24-hour period.

“This is the largest Bitcoin sell-off of 2025,” CryptoQuant contributing analyst Axel Adler Jr. reacted in part of commentary while uploading the figures to X.

The chart shows rolling 24-hour loss-making transactions topping any other period so far this year. While it does not confirm that users sold coins sent to exchange wallets, the data underscores the atmosphere of uncertainty among newer market participants.

“Yesterday’s price drop likely triggered panic selling, and if further corrections occur, similar behavior could reemerge,” fellow contributor Avocado_onchain continued in one of CryptoQuant’s “Quicktake” blog posts on Feb. 26.

The post analyzed the spent output profit ratio (SOPR) metric, which tracks the ratio of coins moved in profit or at a loss onchain.

STH-SOPR fell to 0.964 on Feb. 25, its lowest since the start of August last year at the height of the Japanese yen carry trade unwind.

“On the other hand, long-term holders have remained largely unfazed by the recent plunge, maintaining their holdings and providing support against additional price declines,” Avocado_onchain observed.

”Nothing to be bearish about”

Continuing, James Check, creator of onchain data resource Checkonchain, argued that crossing the aggregate breakeven point for the STH cohort at $90,000 would be a key turning point.

Related: BTC price levels to watch as Bitcoin skids to 3-month lows under $87K

“It’s kind of interesting that we’ve got this support level, which should hold, at around $90,000, but below it there’s just not much,” he said in the latest episode of the Checkonchain podcast, Rough Consensus, recorded just before the crash.

Check noted that “very little” of the BTC supply had changed hands between the old highs and current local lows near $86,000.

Discussing the panicked nature of the week’s market behavior, popular Bitcoin names called for a more level-headed approach.

For digital asset lawyer Joe Carlasare, the euphoria of the past quarter, ever since Bitcoin broke beyond old all-time highs of $73,800, has skewed perceptions of its capabilities.

“The panic is palpable. In December, everyone swore bitcoin couldn’t go down. ‘Nation state bid is here, bro!’ Now they’re convinced it can’t go up,” he summarized on X. 

“Reality? Bitcoin overshoots both ways. Could it go lower? Sure. But this is the buy zone. Nothing to be bearish about.”

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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