It’s been a tough week for cryptocurrency’s alpha dog, and analysts aren’t sure when the beating will stop.
Bitcoin hovered just over $90,000 on Wednesday, while Ethereum traded around $3,041, marking a sharp rise after a difficult week.
According to market updates, Bitcoin is down more than 12% and Ethereum is down about 11% over the past seven days. Traders and analysts say the fluctuations reflect both on-chain activity and broader macro pressures.
long-term holder rotation
According to CryptoQuant CEO Youngjoo Ki, much of the recent price action reflects long-term holders moving their coins around and into new hands.
He said older Bitcoin holders are holding on to their assets for the long term by selling to buyers in traditional finance, including spot ETF vehicles and corporate treasuries.
Earlier this year he pointed to heavy selling of OG whales when prices were at their peak, but now he points to new liquidity from a variety of institutional sources that is changing how supply is absorbed.
Some on-chain signals point to normal reconciliation.
On-chain indicators suggest that the decline may be a mid-cycle correction rather than an overall market reversal. According to the report, short-term holders panic-sold and reduced their exposure, while long-term holders took routine profit-taking.
Analysts note that while new buyers continued to add funds during the downturn, the inflows were not large enough to offset a wave of selling by anxious short-term traders. As part of this rebalancing, Bitcoin’s pullback from its highs near $126,000 was noted.
BTCUSD trading at $90,960 on the 24-hour chart: TradingView
According to the report, more than $1 trillion has been wiped from the overall cryptocurrency market in six weeks, with overall market capitalization down a quarter since its peak in early October.
Bitcoin fell about 25% during that period, hitting around $91,200 at one point, according to CoinGecko data that tracks more than 18,500 coins, a sharp decline in the sector’s value. Trading flows have slowed and many market participants say retail and institutional confidence has been eroded as prices plunge.
Large buyers see discount
JAN3 CEO Samson Mow told reporters that some buyers are not very sensitive to prices and may take advantage of the downturn to increase their holdings. He cited examples like Strategy and others with large financial budgets, and pointed to stablecoin issuers and high-yield companies that could add to their positions.
Mow suggested that with Bitcoin around $95,000, that could seem like a “discount” of nearly 20% to those buyers, making accumulation more attractive while supply is limited.
Stuck between chain signals and macro risks
Meanwhile, Nansen and other analysts say Bitcoin now behaves like a macro asset that moves based on liquidity, the dollar and policy cues.
Traders also noted that global events in early October had forced selling and strengthened risk appetite after sentiment fell.
Increased political support under U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this year and Wall Street adoption of spot ETFs helped, but even that support has not stemmed the recent decline.
Featured image from Wikipedia, chart from TradingView
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