Bitcoin’s on-chain picture remains centered on profitability dynamics, with the total supply in profit holding near a historically significant zone. As of Thursday, CryptoQuant data show about 60.6% of BTC supply in profit, placing the market in a band (roughly 50% to 60%) that has repeatedly framed cycles and potential accumulation phases. The metric briefly dipped to 50.8% on Feb. 5—the lowest since Jan. 2, 2023—leaving a sizable portion of holders at or near breakeven and at a potential loss.

Historical echoes are often cited by traders when profitability enters this range. In January 2023, BTC traded around $16,682 with profitability near 51%, just before a pronounced rally that CryptoQuant’s analysis notes as mirroring a pattern later seen in a multi-hundred percent upmove. A separate moment in March 2020 saw the total supply in profit slip below 50% as BTC hovered near $6,500, ahead of a bull run that pushed prices toward $69,000 in 2021. While past patterns can offer context, they do not guarantee future outcomes; profitability alone does not pinpoint price bottoms, but it does sketch zones where long-term accrual has been strong and selling pressure historically eased.

Key takeaways

• Bitcoin’s supply in profit stands around 60.6%, a level within the 50–60% zone historically linked to market-cycle resets and renewed accumulation.
• Long-term holder profitability remains meaningful: the long-term holder net unrealized profit/loss (LTH-NUPL) sits near 0.40, suggesting holders remain in profit even as overall profitability tightens.
• Institutional and corporate participation has grown, with entities holding roughly 15.8% of circulating BTC (about 3,319,677 BTC), potentially dampening short-term price sensitivity to swings.
• Short-term holder (STH) inflows to Binance have fallen to about 25,000 BTC on March 25, indicating less reactive selling from newer market participants.
• Valuation-based on-chain signals (MVRV, NUPL, Puell) are flashing zones associated with stress for retail demand but not definitive bottoms, highlighting a balance of risk and upside potential ahead.

Profitability baselines and market structure

The 50–60% profitability corridor has been a recurring feature across several cycles. When a large share of supply sits in profit, unrealized gains on the network compress, which can reduce the incentive for holders to sell into weakness. In this framework, the market’s current 60.6% profitability suggests a still-robust share of the supply that could weather minor downturns without triggering acute downside selling pressure. Yet the same metric also shows that a meaningful number of investors remain in the red or near break-even, underscoring the persistence of volatility and the potential for renewed demand when risk appetite shifts.

Crucially, the composition of who owns BTC is shifting. The rise of corporate entities and exchange-traded products (ETFs) as significant holders means a portion of the market is increasingly dominated by entities with longer time horizons and lower sensitivity to short-term price swings. In aggregate, these participants are estimated to control around 15.8% of the circulating supply, or roughly 3.32 million BTC. This dynamic tends to flatten peak-forcing selloffs that can accompany prolonged drawdowns, contributing to a market where profitability compression does not necessarily translate into a wave of distressed selling from veteran investors alike.

On-chain signals and market stress zones

Beyond aggregate profitability, on-chain flow metrics add nuance to the picture. Short-term holder activity has shown a meaningful contraction in selling pressure on BTC. CryptoQuant data indicate STH inflows to Binance dropped to near 25,000 BTC on March 25, a low not seen during the February sell-off, according to comments from market analysts. Such a drop points to a cooling in reactive selling from newer market participants and a potential for steadier price action if selling pressure remains subdued.

Meanwhile, traditional valuation models that analysts watch—market-value to realized-value (MVRV), NUPL, and Puell Multiple—continue to illuminate where stress is most likely to surface. Analysts have observed that when MVRV falls below 1, NUPL slips under -0.2, or Puell Multiple approaches 0.35, those periods have historically coincided with heightened retail stress or undervalued conditions. While these indicators do not guarantee a local bottom, they map out zones where downside risk has often been bounded by prior upside potential, offering traders a probabilistic framework for assessing risk-reward dynamics in the near term.

Taken together, the current on-chain configuration suggests a market moving away from the kind of acute, long-term holder distress that punctuated bear markets in 2015, 2018, and 2022. The divergence between a modestly higher supply-in-profit reading and steady LTH-NUPL points to a market that could see renewed accumulation without triggering uniform, forceful capitulation among long-term investors. In other words, the landscape is shifting toward an ownership mix that may support more measured corrections rather than sharp, cyclical lows.

Related: Bitcoin in ‘later stages’ of bear market: Watch these BTC price levels

What readers should watch next

For traders and investors, the key questions revolve around whether the current on-chain balance can sustain a move higher without retesting lows. The persistence of a sizable profit pool coupled with a growing share of BTC held by institutions could support a gradual re-accumulation narrative, even if price swings remain volatile. Markets will likely respond to macro developments, policy signals, and shifts in risk appetite as much as to on-chain metrics.

Next steps to monitor include: the trajectory of MVRV, NUPL, and Puell readings as BTC moves through key price zones; any shifts in the distribution of BTC held by corporates and ETFs; and observed changes in STH and overall exchange flows that could presage larger moves in supply held by retail participants. While on-chain data cannot predict exact bottoms, it continues to offer a granular view of where investors are positioned and how that positioning might shape the path of least resistance for Bitcoin in the months ahead.