Even though the Bitcoin price has fallen sharply from its all-time high of $126,000, the decline still does not have that much impact on seasoned BTC investors or long-term holders. On-chain data is showing that these long-term BTC holders are still experiencing notable gains from their positions.

Long-Term BTC Holders’ Profit Margins Stay Impressive

With volatility heightening across the broader crypto market, Bitcoin appears to be heading for another retest of the $100,000 price mark. Despite Bitcoin’s recent downward price action, one group remains firmly in the green zone. Specifically, the steady downward movement in the price of BTC has failed to shake long-term holders’ gains. In a recent X post, Darkfost, a CryptoQuant author and market expert, highlighted that long-term holders’ profit margins are still at a significant level. 

After examining the Bitcoin long-term Holders Realized Profit and Loss, the expert revealed that these key investors are currently realizing an average profit of about 188%. This tenacity highlights a well-known pattern in Bitcoin market cycles where seasoned holders typically accumulate during downturns, handle declines calmly, and frequently reap a profit during the following significant rise.

On the other hand, Darkfost highlighted that this figure has been dropping and could encourage long-term holders to limit their selling in the hope of acquiring better gains in the future. The metric shows that these investors’ realized price is currently sitting just above the $35,000 mark.

Darkfost has made a comparison between the market cycle and the past cycles. In contrast, data show that the realized earnings from the last two market peaks were 296% and 346%, respectively. Currently, the market appears to be far from these levels of profitability, which suggests that the bull cycle may still have room for growth.

A Selling Pressure From Short-Term BTC Holders

While long-term holders’ profitability still stands firm, short-term holders are now being forced to offload their holdings. As reported by Darkfost, these key investors appear to have gone on a selling spree following the ongoing market whirlwind.

This behavior is displayed by the recent drop in the BTC Short-Term Holder SOPR (Spent Output Profit Ratio) metric. Data from the metric reveals a decline below 0.995, which signals that STHs are selling at a loss, reflecting growing fear and capitulation among recent BTC buyers. 

Although this action from STHs, which indicates a broadening shift in market sentiment, may appear as a negative development, there is also a positive side to these investors’ move. Darkfost noted that when short-term BTC holders start to capitulate, this is the time when good opportunities usually present themselves.

The purpose of this preset alert is to find profitable BTC entry points, particularly for DCA tactics. However, the expert stated that the alert is also working effectively for short-term trading without providing exit indications.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price was hovering close to $102,000, demonstrating a nearly 2% decline in the last 24 hours. Its trading volume has slightly recovered, as evidenced by a more than 15% increase within the same timeframe.