Bitcoin (BTC) sellers took control during the European trading session on Tuesday as the BTC/USD pair slipped below the $70,000 mark for the first time since April.
Analysts said that Bitcoin has entered another distribution phase due to high selling pressure and investors realizing losses.
Key takeaways:
Bitcoin sees renewed distribution as short-term holders sell at a loss and exchange inflows continue to rise.Crypto market sentiment fell back into “extreme fear,” while spot Bitcoin ETFs saw 11 straight days of outflows.Whale activity surged to its highest level since April, signaling possible accumulation despite broader market weakness.
Bitcoin holders are capitulating
The Short-Term Holder SOPR (STH-SOPR) metric, a measure of whether short-term holders are selling at a profit or a loss, dropped below 1 as fading US-Iran ceasefire hopes pushed Bitcoin price below $70,000.
Related: Bitcoin bulls consider fresh positions after BTC price drops under $71K
Currently at 0.98, it shows renewed short-term loss realization, suggesting the primary sellers are recent investors reacting to uncertainty rather than long-term structural distribution.
Bitcoin: Short-term holder SOPR. Source: CryptoQuant
The chart above shows a similar occurrence in early February after US President Donald Trump announced 15% blanket tariffs despite the Supreme Court ruling them illegal. Uncertainty intensified as the clash between Federal law and presidential authority sent BTC price to $65,000.
The same behaviour is seen among the six-12 month holder group that has “activated potential selling positions,” CryptoQuant analyst Rei Researcher said in a QuickTake note on Tuesday.
The volume of BTC deposited to exchanges by the six-12month holder cohort (yellow columns) has increased continuously since May, reaching levels last seen in October 2025 when Bitcoin reached its all-time high above $126,000. BTC price has been in an extended downtrend since then.
Large supply pressure from this group, appearing heavily at this time, is a “huge barrier to the recovery momentum,” the analyst said, adding:
“This exchange inflow volume needs to be well…..
