Bitcoin Holders Face Sustained Losses for First Time Since October 2023 — What’s Next?
Bitcoin's long-standing profit streak just snapped — and the market's feeling the chill.
For the first time in over two years, a significant portion of Bitcoin holders are now underwater. Not a brief dip, not a flash crash, but sustained losses that have traders checking their portfolios twice. The last time sentiment looked this grim? October 2023.
What Changed?
The tide turned quietly. Gradual selling pressure, mixed macro signals, and that classic crypto volatility converged. Now, wallets that were comfortably in the green are seeing red — and holding through it.
Is This a Buying Opportunity or a Warning Sign?
History offers a clue. Previous periods of widespread holder losses often preceded major rallies — the pain before the gain. But this isn't 2023. Regulatory landscapes have shifted, institutional players are bigger, and the market's maturity cuts both ways.
Meanwhile, traditional finance pundits are already circling — because nothing makes a Wall Street analyst happier than saying 'I told you so' about an asset they never understood in the first place.
The bottom line? Bitcoin's resilience is being tested again. Weak hands might fold, but long-term believers see a familiar pattern — and a potential setup. The network keeps humming, blocks keep getting added, and the fundamental thesis remains unbroken. Sometimes, you have to sit through the red to earn the green.
Bitcoin’s net realized PnL drops below zero, onchain data shows
Bitcoin holders realizing losses, for a 30-day period since, late December for the first time since October 2023. pic.twitter.com/OGsPYm8714
— Julio Moreno (@jjcmoreno) January 20, 2026
Julio Moreno, the head of research at CryptoQuant, shared a chart on X showing that Bitcoin’s net realized profit/loss had gone negative since 2023. Although the metrics do not necessarily signal a market bottom, they reflect increased concerns among newer bitcoin buyers.
Bitcoin’s struggles come amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and trade wars. The rising tension is pushing capital from risk assets like crypto into old-school SAFE havens such as gold and silver. At the time of this publication, gold has surged past $4,700 per ounce, setting a new all-time high of $4,888.
Europe and the U.S. are under heavy trade tensions over the future of Greenland. U.S. President Donald TRUMP has demanded the purchase or seizure of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. The president claims it is vital for U.S. national security, and he announced a 10% tariff on countries opposing his interests in Greenland.
According to a previous Cryptopolitan report, Trump’s interests in the Arctic island prompted Denmark and eight NATO allies to deploy military reinforcements to Greenland to defend against a potential U.S. invasion.
According to Alternative, the crypto fear and greed index currently stands at 24, indicating “extreme fear” in the markets. The index has dropped from 32 logged yesterday, which signifies “Fear” in the markets. Last week, the metrics read a “Neutral” value of 48.
Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds witnessed negative flows worth $483.38 million on January 20, the second-highest single-day outflow since the year began. According to data from the spot ETF tracking website SosoValue, the figures mark a continuation of the trend from January 16, when the funds lost $394.68 million.
Strategy buys 22,305 BTC for $2.13 billion, bringing holdings to 709,715 BTC
Despite negative flows registered by ETFs, institutions and treasury firms are buying Bitcoin. Cryptopolitan reported on January 20 that Michael Saylor’s Strategy purchased $2.13 billion worth of Bitcoin at an average price of $95,284 per Bitcoin. The firm announced it had acquired 22,305 BTC between January 12 and 18, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to 709,715 BTC valued at $62.60 billion at current prices.
In the meantime, Bitcoin has slid below $90K today for the first time since January 12. According to data from crypto data aggregator CoinMarketCap, the crypto asset is currently trading at $88,508. The crypto asset is down 6.92% over the last seven days, after declining 2.89% over the last 24 hours.
The recent price decline has seen BTC shed most of the gains it recorded at the start of the year. The crypto asset is up only 0.76% year-to-date.
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