Bitcoin hit a new all-time high after violating $125,000 last weekend. The headline is familiar and is a kind of round number milestone that brings retailers back to the charts. But something else happened beneath the surface. The blockchain quietly recalibrated its accounting.
Realised prices represent the average cost that all existing coins moved last, jumping in unison to suit short-term holders, long-term holders and total markets. Realised prices are the true serum of the chain. I don’t care about speculative candles and leverage. It only moves when the actual coin changes its hands.
Over the past nine months, Bitcoin realized prices have exceeded approximately $41,000 to $54,000. The cost base for short-term holders has skyrocketed from around $87,000 to $113,000. Even the rarely terrible long-term holders have seen their basis rise from $24,000 to about $37,000.
The last number is Tell. The LTH cost base usually moves little in bull markets, from deep storage to new demand, unless the old coins are actually moving. This time it’s moving fast. Coins that have been dormant for years are often highly enriched by the ETF creation process and institutional custody movements.
This is what the actual on-chain re-ric looks like. It’s not a speculative cancellation, but a large supply turnover.
Why is it important?
As the realized price rises, the market’s “break-even point” will increase. The average owner now owns Bitcoin at a higher cost, tightening the profit cushion of the network. It changes behavior. Dips are purchased faster as everyone is getting closer to uniform. But when prices fall below the new short-term holder line, which is around $113,000 at the time of writing, things get even more intense as leverage and emotions sit on thin ice.
It’s also important to know who has the bag. Every time the long-term standard rises, it means that the old supply (miners, OG wallets, custody finance) has been redistributed to buyers after fresh convictions. The supply of weak hands for years has become new, strong hands. This resets the “pain threshold” for future corrections. Old commercial craftsman overhangs move higher and cleans the air below.
For ETF publishers and desks, this re-recoded hardcode is an institutional entry into the chain. These $110,000 creation units are more than just price action. They are now part of Bitcoin’s permanent ledger. Therefore, the rise in LTH Line should be more important than spot volatility. That means not only it’s recycled by leverage, but it also means that ownership is really spinning.
New soft floor
Think of the realised price as a version of Bitcoin’s book value. This is a tally of what the market actually paid for every coin that still exists. This is the average acquisition cost of the blockchain across the entire circulating supply. This includes coins held by ETFs, exchanges, miners and individual wallets, but also coins that will never move again. Millions of people lost to forgotten keys, early hard drives and Satoshi-era’s wallet, who hasn’t seen transactions in 15 years. These ancient coins still count somewhere between a few cents and hundreds of dollars, with realised caps valued at the last moved price.
That’s what makes both realised prices powerful and troublesome. It captures not only an active economy, but a total historical ledger. As prices rise, as realized prices have reached around $54,000 this year, they redefine what the network considers as “fair value,” but redefine dead supply worth billions of dollars on average. In fact, the realised price of Bitcoin is based on a mixed cost between active coins, coins that are constantly traded and reproduced, and dormant coins that never move again. This means that numbers will always distort what is lower than the actual cost of holding Bitcoin in the living market.
So, traders treat $54,000 as an invisible floor, but a floor supported by ghosts. The majority of circular supply was last active before Bitcoin had a functioning market, lowering realized prices. That strain can hide the true cost of actual liquid supply. In reality, an active float or coin that actually trades, secures loans, or flows through ETFs will likely have a cost base of tens of thousands of dollars.
When you immerse yourself in the realised price, you will find buyers who view it as a “discount,” but that is partly an illusion. Not the average cost of investors today. It is a weighty memory of everyone who owned Bitcoin, either alive or dead. The price realized always underestimates the true commitment of the current market, as more ancient coins remain untouched.
On the other hand, the STH cost base works like a live sentiment gauge. When prices are held further, momentum is in order. Skiing downwards, the funds become negative and liquidation spikes. The line is now $113,000, with Bitcoin’s volatility range rising nearly $30,000 since June. The entire derivatives market currently has price risks centered around a higher center of gravity.
The chain says this isn’t just a hype
This kind of simultaneous lift, with LTH, STH and realisation prices all rising together is a way of voting on blockchain. It tells us that the market is denounced by itself through actual settlements, not just speculation. It is also the best evidence that the ETF era does not only bring about passive flow. It’s changing the internal economics of Bitcoin. Old supply is finding new custodians. All coins that have moved over the past six months have done it at a meaningful high price, boosting the “average cost” of the network faster than the previous bull cycle.
Over the next few weeks, it will be clear whether this relocation was successful. If the cost base of STH and LTH continues to rise in tandem, it means that the coins are still being transferred at a high price, indicating actual demand rather than speculative re-shuffle. Once they flatten, the market is paused during the turn.
Please also take a look at the ETF flow and exchange balances. If ETF Creations continues to emit spot supplies, and if replacement reserves continue to drop, it ensures that the relocation is structural. Otherwise, it could have been a temporary modification from cold wallets to custodians.
The funds and basics communicate the rest. Healthy bull markets run with flat or slightly positive funds. This re-ricausing is locked if Bitcoin continues to crush higher while the funding remains neutral. If the funding goes negative beyond $113,000, traders still don’t believe it.
The bottom line means that it is more expensive to own now. The ledger itself has updated its average cost, acknowledging the reality of the new prices. Realised price of $54,000, short-term holder standards above $113,000: These are more than just statistics. They prove that ownership has changed and market memories have changed.
(TagStoTRASSLATE) Bitcoin (T) Analysis (T) Function (T) Market
