Bitcoin Short-Term Holders Pocket 13% Gains – Is This the Calm Before the Storm?

Bitcoin's short-term traders are cashing in modest wins—but don't break out the champagne just yet.

The 13% Bump: Sugar Rush or Sustainable Growth?

While double-digit gains sound sweet, crypto veterans know these moves are crumbs compared to historic rallies. Short-term holders are playing hot potato—will they regret selling too soon?

Market Psychology at a Crossroads

The 'buy the dip' crowd faces their first real test of 2025. With institutional money lurking, retail traders risk becoming exit liquidity—again.

Wall Street's Shadow Looms Large

Traditional finance sharks smell blood in the water. That 13%? Chump change for hedge funds waiting to front-run the next retail frenzy.

Bitcoin's proving it's still the crypto king—but throne rooms are dangerous places for the underprepared.

A Tight Profit Window For Short-Term Bitcoin Holders

While Bitcoin is hovering near its all-time high, CryptoQuant, a leading on-chain data analytics firm, shared a post showing that short-term holders are barely in profit. In the quick-take post, Darkfost, a market expert and author, highlighted that on-chain traders are sitting on just 13% gains.

Specifically, the on-chain traders stated by Darkfost represent those who are active on the spot market. With the 13% gains conceded in the recent upward trend, it reveals a cautious undercurrent beneath the surface rally.

Darkfost noted that this group of short-term holders includes bitcoin held for one to three months. Examining the BTC held within this range helps to aid in capturing the general sentiment of short-term investors, who usually seek to optimize profits.

After gauging the Bitcoin On-chain Trader Realized Price and Profit/Loss Margin, the market expert stated that the profit for short-term holders peaked at just 69% throughout this cycle and is decreasing over time. Meanwhile, this figure is way below that of previous bull market cycles, especially 2012 and 2021.

Data shows that while in previous market tops, short-term holders’ average profit reached a peak of 232% in 2012 and 150% in 2021. As the crypto landscape slowly stabilizes, short-term holders now face a critical juncture that could define the next major move for Bitcoin. BTC may still be fluctuating close to its peak, but the unrealized profit of this cohort remains limited to just 13%. 

Realized Price For Short-Term BTC Holders At The $104,000 Mark

Given that their realized price is positioned around the $104,000 level, Darkfost claims that the positioning makes it less likely for the investors to sell their BTC. However, if their situation were to worsen significantly, it might cause them to give in, which may encourage a correction in BTC’s price. 

In the meantime, seasoned traders and investors could seize the moment and buy the dip. According to the expert, this development typically turns out to be a good opportunity for investors who know how to take advantage of the dip. 

As BTC faces bearish pressure once again, many traders who bought the flagship digital asset during price swings are now in a risky situation. Should this trend hold, it might probably serve as a tipping point, either reiterating the upward trend or setting off a new round of instability.

At the time of writing, BTC is trading at $118,861, demonstrating a 0.55% increase in the last 24 hours. Within the same period, Bitcoin’s trading volume has seen a rise of 18.35%, indicating renewed bullish sentiment from investors.