Bitcoin’s Pullback: Why This Dip Looks Healthier Than Past Corrections
Bitcoin's latest price retreat barely registers compared to historical meltdowns—here's why traders aren't panicking (yet).
The silver lining in red candles
While -15% drops typically trigger PTSD flashbacks among crypto veterans, current derivatives data shows remarkably calm liquidation patterns. No cascading margin calls. No exchange outages. Just organic profit-taking—the market equivalent of a controlled burn.
Institutional shock absorbers at work
Unlike 2021's leverage-fueled collapses, today's Bitcoin ecosystem now has $28B in ETF buffers and regulated futures open interest acting as circuit breakers. Wall Street's slow-moving capital turns out to be the volatility dampener hodlers never knew they needed.
The cynical take
Of course, this 'mature correction' narrative works great... until some hedge fund blows up chasing yield on illiquid altcoins. But for now? Enjoy the rare sight of crypto growing up—or at least putting on adult pants for investor meetings.
Ongoing Bitcoin Pullback Still Behind Previous Drawdown
Bitcoin has been in a downward trend since it reached its all-time high of around $126,000. While investors and traders closely monitoring the charts may perceive the most recent decline in Bitcoin’s price as severe and significant, on-chain data reveals a completely different picture regarding the development.
In a post on the X platform, Darkfost, a market expert and author, revealed that the drawdown of the ongoing correction reached about 23% as of Sunday. However, the current pullback still sits slightly below the magnitude of the previous major downturn despite increased volatility and growing panic throughout the market.
Since such a level of corrections is often seen in each market cycle, Darkfost stated that there is nothing unusual about this large pullback so far. As indicated on the bitcoin Drawdown metric, the previous corrections, particularly the last two, reached 26% and 28%, respectively. These corrections occurred in September 2024 and May 2025.
Darkfost has also examined the supply of BTC in profit to determine the impact of the current correction on the market. After analyzing the Bitcoin Percent Supply in Profit metric, the expert found that this ongoing pullback is having the biggest effect on the market, even though it is not the largest. Meanwhile, this pressure is mostly felt by short-term BTC holders.
Data shows that the percentage of supply in profit has recently fallen to 68% following a sharp pullback to $93,000, marking its lowest level observed within the recent drawdown. It is worth noting that the last time the market felt this much impact from a pullback was in October 2023, just after the bear market. As on-chain data and BTC’s price draw closer to critical levels, Darkfost has urged investors to monitor the trend in the coming few weeks in order to determine the next market direction.
Short-Term BTC Holders Are Panicking Again
Presently, a strong feeling of fear and uncertainty has been observed among BTC short-term holders. Darkfost highlighted that the market is experiencing the biggest panic MOVE from these key investors since the last all-time high of $126,000.
This negative action is indicative of the recent movement of thousands of BTC by these investors into centralized exchanges, probably to sell them off. During the weekend, short-term holders sent more than 65,000 BTC to crypto exchanges at a loss.
The massive portion of BTC that has moved to centralized exchanges is a clear indication of capitulation among the cohort, who appear to be losing confidence and are choosing to exit the market to minimize their losses. Should this amount of coins be sold, this will lead to billions of dollars leaving the market, which WOULD ultimately trigger more decline in Bitcoin’s price.
