Bitcoin speculators rushed to sell their holdings as the BTC price experienced a correction towards the $40,000 mark, according to the latest on-chain data.
On December 12th, figures from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode revealed that short-term holders (STHs), defined as entities holding BTC for 155 days or less, collectively offloaded over $2 billion worth of BTC.
This came as Bitcoin witnessed its most significant single-day drop of 2023, reaching a peak decline of 8.1%. The data was confirmed by Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView.
Responding to the price drop, the more speculative segment of Bitcoin investors began reducing their exposure to the market, displaying signs of uncertainty about its future.
Glassnode’s data disclosed that on December 11th, STHs sent $1.93 billion worth of Bitcoin to exchanges, followed by another $2.08 billion on the subsequent day.
Both of these days marked record highs in terms of selling pressure from STHs, with entities in both profit and loss positions contributing to the trend.
The last time single-day selling exceeded the $2 billion threshold was in June 2022, triggered by concerns over the impending collapse of blockchain firm Celsius.
James Van Straten, a research and data analyst at crypto insights firm CryptoSlate, highlighted the significance of the week’s STH movements, noting that $2 billion was sold in total, with $1.1 billion resulting in losses.
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This mainly impacted retail investors who had bought Bitcoin between December 6th and December 13th, likely due to the allure of Bitcoin’s 150% year-to-date gain.
While the trading volumes in BTC terms were less substantial, the December 12th figures marked the largest since the beginning of July when BTC/USD had just rebounded above the $30,000 level after dipping to $25,000.
Glassnode also pointed to various on-chain indicators suggesting that STHs might be growing wary of the bullish trend.
Profit-taking was noted around the month’s 19-month high near $45,000, and the researchers suggested that there might be a potential saturation of demand or exhaustion in play.
One of the key indicators highlighted was the Mayer Multiple, which gauges the relationship between the current spot price and the 200-week moving average.
The Mayer Multiple was approaching 1.5, a level that has historically acted as resistance during Bitcoin’s bull markets.
Glassnode stated that the current Mayer Multiple of 1.47 is close to the ~1.5 level, which has historically acted as resistance in previous cycles, including the November 2021 all-time high.
This level has not been breached for 33.5 months, the longest period since the 2013-2016 bear market.
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