Bitcoin continues to struggle to recover the $70,000 level as volatility remains in the cryptocurrency market. After several attempts to recover from recent declines, price action remains volatile, reflecting a market environment where investors are still adjusting to changing macro conditions and weakening momentum. With Bitcoin trading near the $60,000 mark, the chain’s indicators suggest that selling pressure from short-term participants remains the main factor influencing market structure.
According to the analysis of the chain analyst Axel Adler, the latest data shows that short-term holders continue to lose at a steady pace. Bitcoin’s Short-Term Earnings Profit Ratio (STH SOPR) has remained below the 1.0 neutral threshold for seven of the last eight days. This indicator compares the selling price of recently traded coins to their original purchase price, meaning readings below 1.0 indicate that investors are selling at a loss.
Between March 2nd and March 9th, the STH SOPR exceeded 1.0 only once, briefly on March 4th, when Bitcoin reached $70,800. During the rest of the period, the indicator remained in the loss selling territory, and the weekly low was recorded at 0.979 on March 6. As of March 9, the intraday average is close to 0.987, confirming continued selling pressure among recent market entrants.
Contract Holder’s short-term supply continues
The report also highlights important developments in the behavior of short-term Bitcoin holders, particularly through changes in the short-term supply (STH) metric. This indicator measures the total amount of BTC held by investors whose coins are younger than 155 days and provides information on the activity of reactive market participants.
Over the past two weeks, STH Supply has dropped significantly, dropping from around 6.06 million BTC to around 5.92 million BTC. This represents a drop of approximately 140,000 BTC within the cohort, indicating that a large number of coins have been sold or moved into longer holding periods. Currently, the realized price of this group remains close to $89,028, while the market price of Bitcoin is closer to $67,175.
This represents a difference of about 24% in the magnitude of unrealized losses currently affecting short-term holders. Such conditions often create psychological stress, as investors who entered the market at a high price face long periods of negative returns.
The decline in STH supply may reflect two parallel processes. In some cases, it represents surrender as investors sell at a loss. In other cases, it reflects the natural maturity of coins into long-term storage categories. However, a large difference between the strike price and the market price indicates a potential increase in supply, as some holders may sell during future rallies to exit unprofitable positions.
Bitcoin is holding on to $67,000 highs after a sharp correction
The 3-day chart shows Bitcoin trading near the $67,800 area after a sharp correction from the late 2025 high of $120,000. The structure of the market changed drastically at the beginning of 2026 when BTC lost momentum near the $110,000-$115,000 range and started forming a series of highs. This move showed a weak trend and led to a rapid decline after the price broke below the 50-period moving average (blue).
Selling pressure intensified in the first quarter of 2026 and quickly pushed Bitcoin to the 100 moving average (green). This breakdown confirmed a broader transition to a corrective phase and ultimately took BTC to the $62,000-65,000 support zone before buyers stepped in to moderate the price action.
Currently, Bitcoin is trying to consolidate between $65,000 and $70,000, this range now represents a short-term equilibrium zone. The 200-period moving average (red), located around the $88,000 area, remains well above the current price and acts as a key resistance level that the bulls need to recover to regain stronger long-term momentum.
Volume activity has picked up during recent declines, indicating that the correction includes significant distributions. In order to recover the Bitcoin bullish structure, the price will probably need to recover the $70,000-$75,000 range and reestablish the shorter moving averages.
Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
Editing process because bitcoinist is committed to delivering comprehensive, accurate and unbiased content. We adhere to strict sourcing standards and every page is rigorously reviewed by a team of top technology experts and experienced editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance and value of our content to our readers.
