Bitcoin began the week on the defensive, sliding 5% over the past 24 hours to trade near $64,700. The drop mirrors weakness in broader risk assets, with U.S. stock futures lower — Nasdaq 100 contracts down 0.9% — while safe-haven assets rally. Gold has gained 2% and silver is up 5.6%.
The selloff follows a weekend rejection around $67,000 and comes as fresh on-chain data from Glassnode and CryptoQuant suggests that while the sharpest phase of panic may have passed, the market’s foundation remains fragile.
Loss realization eases, but remains elevated
Glassnode’s data shows that short-term bitcoin holders were realizing heavy losses earlier this month. A seven-day smoothed measure of their net realized profit and loss dropped to negative $1.24 billion per day on Feb. 6, indicating that newer investors were collectively locking in more than $1 billion in daily losses.
That figure has since improved to roughly negative $480 million per day. The reduction points to slowing capitulation, but short-term holders are still exiting at a net loss — behavior typically associated with bottoming phases rather than renewed bullish momentum.
Whales drive exchange inflows
CryptoQuant’s exchange flow metrics tell a similar story. During the early February decline toward $60,000, bitcoin inflows to exchanges surged to about 60,000 BTC per day. On a seven-day smoothed basis, that number has since fallen to around 23,000 BTC, signaling that immediate liquidation pressure has cooled.
However, the composition of sellers has shifted. CryptoQuant’s exchange whale ratio has climbed to 0.64 — the highest level since 2015 — meaning nearly two-thirds of bitcoin flowing to exchanges comes from the 10 largest daily deposits.
The average size of deposits has also climbed to levels last seen in mid-2022, reinforcing the view that large holders, rather than retail investors, are responsible for much of the current exchange supply.
Altcoins are also seeing increased distribution. Average daily altcoin deposits to exchanges have risen to roughly 49,000 in 2026, up from about 40,000 in the fourth quarter of 2025. Elevated inflows of alternative tokens have historically coincided with higher volatility and softer demand.
Liquidity tightens
Liquidity conditions are thinning as well. Net USDT inflows to exchanges have dropped sharply from a one-year high of $616 million in November to just $27 million, briefly turning negative in late January. Because stablecoin inflows often expand during rallies, their contraction signals reduced marginal buying power.
Taken together, the Glassnode and CryptoQuant data describe a market that has absorbed a wave of capitulation but has yet to rebuild strong demand. As the week unfolds, attention turns to whether the $65,000 level can hold as near-term support — or whether bitcoin remains locked in an extended base-building phase.
