A significant amount of dormant Bitcoin (BTC) has recently been moved on-chain, raising speculation about potential market impact. According to CryptoQuant analyst Martuun, 8,007 BTC, aged between three and five years, have just become active. When long-inactive Bitcoin moves, it sometimes indicates that holders might be preparing to sell, consolidating holdings, or shifting funds for security reasons, among other reasons.
8,007 BTC aged between 3y – 5y moved on-chain 🤫 pic.twitter.com/BVqGsp7CCz
— Maartunn (@JA_Maartun) February 26, 2025
Amid this large movement, Bitcoin’s price remains in the red, struggling to gain upward momentum. After three consecutive days of losses, BTC saw a brief rebound but failed to maintain bullish momentum. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down 3.3% in the last 24 hours to $86,076, after falling from Monday to Wednesday. The 12.6% loss over the last three days remains the largest since FTX’s bankruptcy in November 2022, according to TradingView data.
Bitcoin’s failure to sustain a recovery suggests that broader macroeconomic factors and investor sentiment continue to weigh on price action.
Bitcoin price stays in red
Bitcoin fell to fresh lows on Wednesday, dipping to $82,111 before staging a slight recovery to nearly $86,000. Losses on crypto markets match those in U.S. equities, so market analysts are now looking for macroeconomic indicators to support a Bitcoin rally in the near term.
On Feb. 21, 2025, Bybit experienced one of the greatest hacks in cryptocurrency history, losing 403,996 ETH (almost $1.13 billion) from its cold wallets owing to a smart contract attack. This breach resulted in panic withdrawals, with total exchange outflows of almost $4.3 billion across Bitcoin and stablecoins.
Market sentiment quickly deteriorated, resulting in a broad sell-off. Bitcoin’s monthly performance fell to -13.6%, returning it to the realized supply “air gap” of $70,000 to $88,000, a zone with a low-cost-basis density. Initially fueled by long-term holder sell-offs, this weakness was worsened by the Bybit hack, which increased downside momentum.
If demand fails to revive, greater downside risk remains, making the next few weeks important in determining whether Bitcoin stabilizes or capitulates further.
