Bitcoin (BTC) plunged to $60,000 on Feb. 6 and triggered a capitulation event, with nearly 241,000 BTC flooding exchanges over three days as short-term holders, small wallets and even institutional-grade venues registered sharp inflow spikes that signaled panic had spread well beyond retail traders.
What Happened; Exchange Inflows Surge
Between Feb. 4 and Feb. 6, roughly 241,000 BTC were sent to various exchanges, according to analyst Darkfost. Binance alone saw short-term holder inflows exceed 100,000 BTC on a seven-day rolling basis on Feb. 6, surpassing levels recorded during the April 2025 correction.
The selloff came as BTC revisited a price level not seen since October 2024, amid a broader drawdown exceeding 50% from the last all-time high.
"The acceleration of this correction created a clear fear driven dynamic," Darkfost said.
Small holders—wallets under 1 BTC known as "shrimps"—added to the pressure. On Feb. 5, shrimp inflows to Binance exceeded 1,000 BTC in a single day, nearly triple the monthly average of roughly 365 BTC.
The activity was not confined to retail platforms. Coinbase Advanced, which Darkfost described as widely used by institutions and professional desks, recorded roughly 27,000 BTC in inflows on Feb. 6. "Nervousness…not limited to retail investors," he wrote.
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Why It Matters; Holder Cost Pressure
Darkfost tied the flush to cost-basis dynamics that have increasingly squeezed holders. He said BTC had put all short-term holders underwater and was beginning to test long-term holder cohorts, with the six-to-12-month and 12-to-18-month groups sitting at cost bases of $103,188 and $85,849 respectively.
He noted a reaction when price reached the realized price of the 18-month-to-two-year cohort at $63,654, calling it "likely an area of interest for these holders."
Darkfost called the event an exhaustion flush.
"These capitulation moves have pushed BTC into an extreme oversold zone that the market will now need time to absorb and digest," he wrote. After briefly slipping below $60,000, Bitcoin rebounded to around $71,000, with retail flows drifting back toward their average.
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