Bitcoin’s Rebound Leaves Recent Buyers Under Pressure
Bitcoin has stabilized after a sharp selloff that coincided with rising geopolitical tensions and a broad retreat in risk assets. The recovery has eased some of the market stress seen earlier this month, yet blockchain data suggests investors are still navigating conditions historically associated with bear markets.
On-chain data analytics firm Glassnode’s June 17 market report showed bitcoin rebounding after a sharp June decline that pushed prices to their lowest levels in months. Despite the recovery, the asset remains significantly below the True Market Mean, a key on-chain benchmark used to distinguish bull and bear market regimes.
“The True Market Mean tracks the average acquisition price of actively transacted coins, and historically serves as the threshold between bear and bull market regimes,” Glassnode explained. The firm estimates the metric at $77,200, well above the current market price.
Glassnode stated:
“Currently at $77.2k, it sits roughly 15% above spot near $65.6k, placing the market firmly in discount territory.”
Recent buyers remain under pressure even after the bounce. Short-Term Holder Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV), a metric that compares the current value of coins held by recent buyers with the price they paid for them, improved from 0.81 to 0.90 but remained below the 1.0 break-even threshold. The cohort’s estimated cost basis was near $72,600, leaving newer holders with unrealized losses of roughly 10%.
Profitability data also remained weak. The 30-day Realized Profit/Loss Ratio stood at 0.53, showing realized losses continued to outweigh gains.
Conditions for a Stronger Recovery Remain Unmet
Capital flows have improved but remain negative. Realized Cap fell 1.45% over 90 days to $1.07 trillion, though the seven-day change improved to negative 0.18%, showing outflows have slowed.
Glassnode detailed:
“The conditions required before a credible transition to a pre-bull phase can be considered are specific and measurable: a reclaim of the True Market Mean near $77.2k, Short-Term Holder MVRV back above 1.0, and Realized Cap turning positive on the 90-day horizon.”
As of June 17, all three indicators remained below those levels. Bitcoin remains below the True Market Mean, Short-Term Holder MVRV is under 1.0, and Realized Cap has continued to contract over 90 days.
Market structure showed some stabilization. Binance order book data showed buy-side liquidity exceeding resting sell orders by the widest margin in months after bitcoin approached $60,000, indicating stronger demand to absorb supply during weakness.
