Most addresses holding bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, are now losing money, the first time that’s happened since the start of the coronavirus-induced crash of March 2020.
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Just over 51%, or 24.56 million addresses of the total 47.85 million, are below purchase price on their investments, according to data provided by blockchain analytics firm IntoTheBlock. About 45% are in the money, that is, boasting unrealized gains, while the rest are roughly at breakeven
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IntoTheBlock defines out-of-the-money addresses as those that acquired coins at an average price higher than bitcoin’s going market rate of $16,067.
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The bearish momentum looks overdone, according to IntoTheBlock’s Lucas Outumuro.
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Previous bear markets ended with the majority of addresses being out-of-the-money.
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Previous bear markets ended with most addresses being out-of-the-money (IntoTheBlock, CoinDesk)
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The percentage of out-of-the-money addresses stood at 55% in January 2019. Bitcoin bottomed near $3,200 around the same time and began a bull run three months later.
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The percentage of addresses out-of-the-money rose to 62% during the depths of the 2015 bear market.
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Past data, however, is no guarantee of future results and the fallout from the recent collapse of FTX may bring more pain to the market.