Bitcoin (BTC) broke through the psychological barrier of $90,000 this week, when it traded at a new record high of $93,265. However, at the time of writing, the most popular cryptocurrency on the market is trading at $89,321,000, after losing 6% of its value in the last two days.
On-chain data has revealed that Bitcoin has seen a pullback due to an increase in profit-taking activity, mainly by short-term holders. As such hasty investors look to lock in gains, the chances of Bitcoin’s price hitting $90,000 in the near term look increasingly slim.
Read more: Bitcoin Price Prediction 2024/2025/2030
Short-term Bitcoin holders move the market
BeInCrypto’s Bitcoin Spent Output Age (SOAB) assessment provides insights into the activity of its holders. This metric categorizes Bitcoin’s Unspent Transaction Outputs (UTXOs) based on age and tracks their spending activity. Bitcoin UTXOs represent the amount of coins a user has available to spend and are tracked by the network as inputs for new transactions.
Analyzing BTC’s SOAB provides insights into market sentiment and potential price movements. For example, an increase in younger age groups usually indicates increased trading activity and profit-taking by short-term holders (those who have held their coins for less than 30 days). This has been evident in the BTC market since it broke through the $90,000 mark on Wednesday.
According to data from CryptoQuant, Bitcoin holders who held their coins for just one day transferred 1,146,151 BTC that same day — the highest level in two months. Holders with a holding period of one to seven days moved 135,950 BTC, while those who held between seven and 30 days transferred just 32,021 BTC.
Bitcoin Spent Output Age Ranges. Source: CryptoQuant
An increase in outflows from holders of coins with less than a month of ownership signals that short-term investors are selling. This indicates increased profit-taking or reduced confidence among recent buyers. Furthermore, it adds selling pressure and contributes to short-term price volatility.
Long-term holders steady the ship
However, long-term Bitcoin holders, who have held their coins for more than 12 months, have taken a different approach. While there have been some coin movements, they remain relatively minimal.
Bitcoin Spent Output Age Ranges. Source: CryptoQuant
This suggests that since Bitcoin’s surge to $90,000, price fluctuations have been largely driven by short-term holders.
BTC Price Prediction: What to Watch
Short-term holders hold a significant portion of Bitcoin’s circulating supply. Therefore, a sustained increase in selling activity from this class of investors could exert downward pressure on the price of the coin. BTC could fall further below the $90,000 mark if the sell-off continues.
As per the readings from the coin’s Fibonacci retracement tool, if this occurs, BTC’s next price target is $83,792. If this level fails to hold as support, BTC could drop below the $80,000 mark to trade at $76,356.
Bitcoin Price Analysis. Source: TradingView
However, if short-term holders refrain from selling, this bearish projection will be invalidated. This will increase the likelihood of Bitcoin’s price breaking above $90,000. It could reclaim its all-time high of $93,256 and even attempt a rally towards the $100,000 mark.
The article Bitcoin (BTC) struggles to reclaim $90,000, but holders hold price was first seen on BeInCrypto Brasil.
