Bitcoin Short-Term Holders Move 47,000 BTC to Exchanges at a Loss

Short-term holders transferred 47,025 $BTC at an unrealized loss to centralized exchanges in the 24 hours leading up to midnight UTC on Nov. 11, according to onchain data from analytics platform CryptoQuant ¹. The influx represents the third-largest single-day volume of underwater coins moved to trading venues since July ¹. The transactions coincided with Bitcoin dropping to $72,670, marking an 11-week low last observed on Aug. 20 ¹. At the time of writing, Bitcoin traded at $73,981.

The short-term cohort—defined as addresses holding coins for up to 155 days—demonstrated severe capitulation behavior during the retreat ¹. On Nov. 10, profitable deposits totaled roughly 1,700 BTC, establishing a ratio where approximately 27 BTC arrived at exchanges at a loss for every single coin deposited in profit ¹. CryptoQuant tracked higher single-day loss realizations in recent months only on Oct. 8, when rolling 24-hour transfers peaked at 50,500 BTC after the price retreated to $80,000 ¹. Previously, Bitcoin broke below trader cost basis metrics when testing higher thresholds.

Bear Trend Continuation Risks

The market structure shift follows short-term holders slipping back into aggregate unrealized losses on Friday after their estimated acquisition cost basis hovered near $75,700 ¹. While the cohort previously achieved peak unrealized profitability in September when the asset reached $87,200, recent downward pressure has invalidated those gains ¹.

CryptoQuant head of research Julio Moreno stated that if interim price rallies continue stalling near the cohort's average cost basis and net unrealized losses widen, the August recovery increasingly appears to be a pause within a broader cyclical downtrend that began in November 2025 ¹. Moreno noted that a sustained price breakdown below the $73,000 threshold, combined with a failed recovery attempt from underneath that level, would reinforce the probability of an ongoing bear market ¹.