Bitcoin’s Short-Term Holders Remain Underwater After 98 Days

The figures are estimates from different data snapshots, so they should not be treated as a tick-by-tick market reading. For example, an earlier report cited an STH cost basis of $68,700 and losses of about 7.2%, while the later analysis cited approximately $67,300 and 6%. The broader message is nevertheless consistent: recent buyers remain below breakeven.

Why 98 days underwater matters

STH MVRV has reportedly remained below the 1.0 parity line for 98 consecutive days, or more than three months. That duration matters because a prolonged period below cost can test the conviction of recent buyers and leave a sizeable group watching the same breakeven level.

If Bitcoin recovers toward roughly $67,300, the average short-term holder would approach a nominal exit point. That could reduce the pressure associated with selling at a loss, but it could also create resistance: holders who have waited through months of weakness may choose to sell once they can exit near breakeven. The cost-basis level is therefore both a potential relief point and a possible supply zone.

Why this is a controlled loss phase—not capitulation

MVRV describes the cohort’s position; SOPR provides a read on the behavior of coins being spent. Here, those indicators are telling different but complementary parts of the story:

1. The position is weak. An MVRV near 0.94 means the average STH is carrying an unrealized loss.
2. The selling is not yet extreme. A seven-day SOPR near 0.996 is below 1, but only marginally, indicating limited realized losses on average.
3. Broad panic selling has not been established. The cited analyses describe no clear signs of mass selling or large-scale capitulation.

That is why the current structure is better described as a controlled loss phase than as a confirmed washout. It does not mean the market is healthy or that downside is over. It means the existing data shows underwater holders without evidence that they are collectively realizing severe losses at scale.

The downside risk below $59,300

The absence of capitulation today does not eliminate latent selling pressure. The cited analysis identifies $59,300 as an important support level: if it holds, the bearish structure would not be significantly damaged; if it breaks, the risk of a deeper correction increases.

A decisive break could deepen the unrealized losses carried by short-term holders and test whether the current orderly behavior persists. That is a conditional risk scenario, not a prediction. The present metrics alone do not establish that a support failure would automatically trigger capitulation.

What would improve the picture?

The clearest relief signal for this cohort would be a sustained recovery toward its estimated cost basis near $67,300. Moving back toward MVRV parity at 1.0 would reduce aggregate unrealized losses and could ease the incentive to sell under pressure.

However, a return to breakeven would not guarantee an immediate bullish breakout. Recent buyers may use that level to exit, particularly after spending 98 days underwater. This creates a market tension: price recovery can reduce loss-driven selling while simultaneously attracting supply from holders seeking to get out flat.

Bottom line

Bitcoin’s short-term-holder data describes persistent stress without confirmed capitulation. An STH MVRV near 0.94, an estimated 6% average unrealized loss, and 98 days below breakeven show that recent buyers are under pressure. But the seven-day SOPR near 0.996 indicates that realized losses remain comparatively mild.

For now, the evidence supports a fragile consolidation or controlled-loss phase rather than a full washout. The two levels that matter most in this framework are approximately $59,300 on the downside and $67,300 near the cohort’s breakeven cost basis—with neither level acting as a guaranteed market signal on its own.