Category: Bitcoin News

The Saylor Discount: Why Bitcoin Trading Below Strategy’s Realized Price is a Gift for Late-Cycle Allocators

Bitcoin continues to struggle below the $65,000 level as persistent selling pressure weighs on market sentiment. Price action has remained fragile in recent weeks, with volatility elevated and traders showing limited conviction amid tightening liquidity conditions and broader macro uncertainty. While intermittent rebounds have occurred, they have so far failed to establish sustained upside momentum, leaving Bitcoin locked in a cautious consolidation phase below a key psychological threshold.

A recent CryptoQuant report highlights a notable structural development involving StrategyB, formerly known as MicroStrategy. It has now been more than six years since the company began its Bitcoin accumulation strategy, targeting roughly 5% of the asset’s total supply. The initiative, driven by CEO Michael Saylor — one of Bitcoin’s most vocal long-term advocates — reflects a conviction that BTC could eventually surpass the $1 million mark over time.

To pursue this objective, StrategyB has executed what many consider the largest dollar-cost averaging program in Bitcoin’s history, notably without selling any BTC since inception. Annual investment figures illustrate the scale of this effort: $1.1 billion in 2020, $2.57 billion in 2021, $276 million in 2022, $1.9 billion in 2023, $21.9 billion in 2024, $22.4 billion in 2025, and $4.1 billion so far in 2026.

StrategyB’s Aggressive Bitcoin Accumulation And Market Implications

According to the report, 2025 marked a record year for StrategyB in terms of capital deployed, with more than $22.4 billion invested into Bitcoin accumulation. The data suggests that 2026 is currently following a comparable trajectory. If this pace continues, the firm could surpass last year’s record, further consolidating its position as one of the largest institutional holders of BTC.

At present, Bitcoin is trading below StrategyB’s estimated realized price, which sits near $76,000. This metric reflects the company’s average acquisition cost across its holdings. StrategyB reportedly holds approximately 717,131 BTC, equivalent to around 3.4% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply. Such concentration highlights the scale of institutional participation now embedded in the market structure.

However, the interpretation of this data requires caution. Trading below a large holder’s realized price does not automatically imply undervaluation; realized price is a cost-basis metric, not a valuation model. Market conditions, liquidity flows, and macroeconomic variables remain dominant drivers of price direction.

Still, the broader takeaway is notable: even major institutional participants often rely on relatively simple accumulation strategies such as dollar-cost averaging. Whether that approach proves optimal in current conditions depends on individual risk tolerance, time horizon, and broader market context.

Weekly Breakdown Below Key Moving Averages Signals Structural Weakness

Bitcoin’s weekly structure has deteriorated materially over the past several sessions. After failing to sustain acceptance above the $90,000–$100,000 region, price rolled over and has now retraced toward the mid-$60,000 area. The latest weekly close near $66,000 places BTC decisively below the 50-week and 100-week moving averages, both of which are beginning to slope downward.

This shift in positioning is technically significant. During the 2024–2025 advance, these moving averages acted as dynamic support, consistently absorbing pullbacks and reinforcing trend continuation. Their loss now converts them into overhead resistance, limiting upside unless reclaimed with strong volume confirmation.

The 200-week moving average, currently tracking near the mid-$50,000 zone, remains the last major structural support on this timeframe. Historically, sustained closes below the 50-week average following a cycle peak have signaled prolonged corrective phases rather than shallow consolidations.

Volume has expanded during the recent breakdown, suggesting distribution rather than simple low-liquidity drift. The sharp selloff from the $90,000 region to sub-$70,000 levels reflects decisive supply entering the market.

For bulls to regain control, BTC would need to reclaim the $75,000–$80,000 range and reestablish higher weekly highs. Until then, the weekly trend favors caution, with momentum tilted toward continued consolidation or further downside exploration.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com

February 24, 2026
Bitcoin Capitulation Persists As Short-Term Holders Realize $0.48B Daily Losses

On-chain data shows the Bitcoin short-term holders continue to capitulate as they are realizing net losses of $0.48 billion every day.

Bitcoin Short-Term Holder Net Realized Profit/Loss Is Notably Red

According to data from on-chain analytics firm Net Realized Profit/Loss has been negative for the Bitcoin short-term holders recently. This indicator measures, as its name suggests, the net amount of profit or loss that BTC investors are harvesting through their selling.

The version of the metric that’s of relevance here specifically tracks this for the short-term holders (STHs), a BTC investor cohort that includes only buyers from the last 155 days.

Statistically, the longer an investor holds onto their coins, the less likely they become to sell them in the future. Since the STHs represent the new entrants into the market, their resilience tends to be low, and they may take part in panic selling during market volatility.

Recently, Bitcoin has faced a major drawdown and the STHs have naturally reacted to it. Below is the chart shared by Glassnode that shows how the 7-day exponential moving average (EMA) of the Net Realized Profit/Loss has fluctuated for this group during the recent volatility.

As is visible in the graph, the Bitcoin STH Net Realized Profit/Loss saw a deep plunge into the negative territory during the price downturn that followed the October high, implying realized losses notably outweighed the profits. In January, the metric recovered toward the neutral mark as the market saw an uplift, but the price drawdown since the end of the month has again taken the indicator to a highly red level.

On February 6th, the STH Net Realized Profit/Loss fell to a value of -$1.24 billion per day, notably lower than the red peak observed last year. Since this low, the metric has risen a bit and today, it’s sitting at -$0.48 billion per day. “While the intensity has cooled, the broader regime still signals a market under pressure, with participants in the base formation phase continuing to capitulate,” explained the analytics firm.

In some other news, the Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Gap has been negative recently, as highlighted by CryptoQuant author IT Tech in an X post.

The Coinbase Premium Gap tracks the difference between the Bitcoin spot price listed on Coinbase (USD pair) and that on Binance (USDT pair). From the chart, it’s apparent that the metric has maintained at red values since mid-December, indicating that Coinbase users have been applying a higher amount of selling pressure than Binance traders.

Coinbase is mainly used by US-based investors, especially the large institutional entities, so this trend can be a sign that there isn’t much demand for BTC among them right now.

BTC Price

Bitcoin has been slipping deeper as its price is now trading around $64,000.

February 24, 2026
Bithumb $43 Billion Bitcoin Blunder Triggers Political Backlash In South Korea

South Korean lawmakers are ramping up pressure on financial regulators after a system failure at Bithumb, the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, led to the accidental distribution of more than $43 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) earlier this month.

The February 6 incident has triggered political scrutiny of both the exchange itself and the agencies responsible for overseeing the virtual asset market.

Behind The Bithumb Massive Bitcoin Mishap

According to local reporting by The Korea Times, members of the National Assembly are questioning how such a massive error could slip through despite repeated regulatory inspections.

Rep. Kang Min-guk of the main opposition People Power Party disclosed that the country’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) reviewed Bithumb three times between 2022 and 2025.

Over the same period, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) conducted three separate inspections. Yet regulators failed to detect what has now been described as a critical structural weakness in the exchange’s system.

Kang argued that existing oversight mechanisms were inadequate. He pointed out that safeguards were insufficient to prevent a situation in which a single employee could initiate massive coin transfers. Kang said:

The episode is not merely a technical mishap but a case that lays bare deeper structural weaknesses in the virtual asset market, including complacent supervision and gaps in regulation.

Instead of crediting users with Bitcoin worth 2,000 won — approximately $1.38 — the system mistakenly credited 2,000 Bitcoin per user. In total, 620,000 Bitcoin were incorrectly distributed.

Rep. Han Chang-min of the minor Social Democratic Party also criticized regulators, questioning whether supervisory authorities had meaningfully evaluated the exchange’s internal systems. “Authorities appeared to be shifting responsibility onto Bithumb despite their supervisory role,” Han said.

Broader Crypto Oversight

In response to the incident, the FSS extended the deadline for its formal investigation from Feb. 13 to the end of the month, citing the need for additional time.

An eight-member inspection team is now intensifying its review, focusing on possible violations related to investor protection and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance.

Particular attention is being given to the system architecture that allowed coins not actually held by the exchange to be credited to users. Regulators have not ruled out the possibility that further erroneous distributions could be uncovered.

Separately, financial authorities have reportedly formed an emergency response team in coordination with the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA), a self-regulatory body representing domestic exchanges.

The team has begun inspections of asset verification and internal control systems at four other platforms — Upbit, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX. Any deficiencies are expected to be incorporated into DAXA’s self-regulatory guidelines and could influence the next phase of cryptocurrency legislation in South Korea.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $67,763, marking a 2% decline over the past seven days and showing minimal change since Thursday’s trading session.

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com

February 22, 2026
Bitcoin Extreme Fear Streak Extends To 22 Days As Price Struggles

Data shows the Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index continues to be inside the extreme fear zone as the cryptocurrency market continues to struggle.

Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index Is Still Pointing At ‘Extreme Fear’

The “Fear & Greed Index” refers to an indicator created by Alternative that tells us about the average sentiment present among traders in the Bitcoin and wider cryptocurrency markets. The index uses the data of the following five factors to determine the market mentality: trading volume, market cap dominance, volatility, social media sentiment, and Google Trends.

When the value of the metric is greater than 53, it means the sentiment shared by the majority of the investors is that of greed. On the other hand, the indicator being under 47 suggests the investors are fearful. Naturally, values lying between the two thresholds indicate the presence of a net neutral mentality.

Besides these three main zones, there are also two ‘extreme’ areas called the extreme fear (25 and under) and extreme greed (above 75). Recently, the market has been inside the former of the two.

Here is how the latest value of the Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index looks:

As is visible above, the Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index has a value of 7, which is pretty deep into the extreme fear zone. In fact, this level of despair is something that the traders have rarely held historically.

The Fear & Greed Index has consistently been at similarly low levels during the last couple of weeks, as the below chart shows.

Overall, the indicator has been stuck inside the extreme fear territory for 22 straight days now. The recent bad market sentiment is a result of the drawdown that the Bitcoin price has faced.

In the past, cryptocurrency markets have often tended to move in the direction that goes contrary to the expectations of the majority. The probability of a contrarian move occurring has generally been the strongest in the extreme sentiment zones as that’s where the crowd is the most sure about the market’s outcome.

Given this, the recent extreme fear mentality could help the sector bottom out. The lowest that the metric has gone this cycle is 5, which is similar to the lowest point of the previous bear market. In that bear market, however, the market consolidated and spent more time inside the extreme fear zone even after the low in the Fear & Greed Index, before a bottom was eventually reached.

It now remains to be seen how long Bitcoin and others will take to hit a cyclical low this time around.

BTC Price

Bitcoin has been unable to make much recovery since its bounce from the $60,000 level as its price continues to trade around $67,700.

February 22, 2026
Bitcoin Liquidity Battles Heat Up As Demand Shows First Positive Print

Bitcoin remains range-bound as liquidity clears on both sides, keeping price action indecisive. After months of weakness, demand has finally turned positive, hinting that selling is easing and structural accumulation may be returning.

BTC Stays Range-Bound Amid Active Liquidity Clearing

Bitcoin remains locked in a range-bound state, characterized by a lack of directional commitment. Currently, the price is actively engaged in clearing liquidity on both sides of the spread. This creates a market environment where expansion is met with selling pressure, while price dips are swiftly absorbed by buyers, trapping the asset in a tug-of-war.

According to Columbus, market liquidity remains exceptionally well-defined both above and below the current price levels. This structure reinforces the ongoing choppy environment, as the market seems content to bounce between established pockets of orders. In such a scenario, the data suggests that patience is the most valuable asset for traders.

From this juncture, the market’s trajectory depends on how it reacts after the nearby liquidity is purged. If Bitcoin begins to find acceptance above the current range following a liquidity sweep, the probability shifts toward a bullish expansion, triggering a move into higher upside pockets.

Conversely, if the attempt to gain acceptance fails after a sweep, the market remains vulnerable to further downside. This could result in additional sweeping of lower liquidity levels before any sustained recovery can materialize. Until then, the prevailing goal remains a technical clean-up of liquidity before the next major trend is established.

Bitcoin Demand Turns Positive After Months Of Weakness

CryptosRus recently highlighted that after nearly three months of persistent weakness, Bitcoin’s apparent demand has finally turned back above zero, currently sitting around +1,200 BTC. This marks a notable shift in investors’ sentiment and action in a market struggling with heightened volatility.

Back in December, demand had bottomed near -154,000 BTC, a quantity that helps explain the sluggish price action that persisted in the following weeks. Since then, the pressure has been quietly easing. Selling activity is slowing, and structural accumulation is beginning to re-emerge, signaling a potential shift in market dynamics.

It’s important to understand what this metric represents, which is whether long-term holders are absorbing new supply. When demand is deeply negative, the market tends to struggle. Conversely, when the metric turns positive, it suggests that buying activity is rebuilding, creating conditions for a healthier market structure.

That said, the market is not out of the woods yet. A single positive print does not confirm a trend reversal. However, if this recovery in demand persists, it is often one of the earliest indicators that the market is transitioning from a distribution phase back toward accumulation, setting the stage for potential sustained strength in the weeks ahead.

February 22, 2026