Bitcoin declines 5%, falling beneath $65,000 as large holders sell and recent investors realize losses.

On-chain insights from Glassnode and CryptoQuant reveal that significant holders are leading exchange inflows, while short-term investors continue to divest at a loss, indicating a vulnerable phase of base-building.

(CoinDesk)

Key points:

• Bitcoin has dropped to $64,700 in early trading this week, reflecting a 5% decrease over the last 24 hours.
• Realized losses by recent bitcoin purchasers have decreased from approximately $1.24 billion to $480 million daily, indicating that panic selling is subsiding, but a bottom-building phase may still be in progress.
• Data from exchanges indicates that large holders are now the primary sellers, while altcoin deposits and volatility are increasing, and stablecoin inflows have diminished, all suggesting weakened purchasing power as bitcoin tests the $65,000 support level.

Bitcoin BTC$67,996.25 is sharply lower as trading begins in the new week, down 5% over the past 24 hours to $64,700.

U.S. stock index futures have also declined, with the Nasdaq 100 experiencing a 0.9% drop. Precious metals have increased significantly, with gold rising by 2% and silver by 5.6%.

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The decline in bitcoin follows a significant drop from the $67,000 range, where it was trading over the weekend, and occurs as on-chain data from Glassnode and CryptoQuant suggest that the peak of panic may have passed, although the overall structure remains under stress.

Glassnode data indicates that recent bitcoin buyers were realizing substantial losses earlier this month. A smoothed 7-day measure of short-term holder profits and losses fell to –$1.24 billion per day on February 6, indicating that newer investors were collectively locking in more than $1 billion in losses daily.

The 7D-EMA of Net Realized Profit & Loss for recent investors plunged to –$1.24B/day on Feb 06, before moderating to –$0.48B/day today.
While the intensity has cooled, the broader regime still signals a market under pressure, with participants in the base formation phase… https://t.co/rhCsrDuDfJ pic.twitter.com/00zibdP1om

— glassnode (@glassnode) February 23, 2026

This figure has since improved to around –$0.48 billion per day. In other words, while panic selling has diminished, it has not completely ceased. Recent purchasers are still incurring losses overall, a trend that typically occurs during bottom-building periods rather than during robust uptrends.

Exchange flow data from CryptoQuant reflects a similar transformation in market dynamics.

Information from CryptoQuant’s latest weekly report reveals that the volume of bitcoin transferred to exchanges surged to approximately 60,000 BTC per day during the early February decline toward $60,000. This number has since decreased to about 23,000 BTC on a 7-day smoothed basis, indicating that the wave of immediate selling has lessened.

However, the profile of those selling has shifted. CryptoQuant’s “exchange whale ratio” has risen to 0.64, the highest since 2015. This means that nearly two-thirds of the bitcoin entering exchanges is sourced from just the 10 largest deposits each day.

In essence, significant holders, often termed whales, are responsible for the majority of the supply reaching exchanges. The average size of each bitcoin deposit has also increased to levels not seen since mid-2022, reinforcing the notion that larger players, rather than small retail investors, are influencing current exchange activity.

Altcoins are experiencing broader distribution. CryptoQuant data indicates that average daily altcoin exchange deposits have increased to approximately 49,000 thus far in 2026, up from around 40,000 in Q4 2025. Heightened deposit activity across alternative tokens has historically been associated with increased volatility and a diminished risk appetite.

Liquidity buffers are also decreasing. Net USDT inflows to exchanges have significantly contracted from a one-year peak of $616 million in November to only $27 million, occasionally turning negative in late January, according to CryptoQuant. Stablecoin inflows generally rise during market rallies. Their reduction indicates a decline in marginal purchasing power.

Together, Glassnode’s loss-realization figures and CryptoQuant’s exchange data illustrate a market processing a capitulation event but not yet re-establishing robust demand.

As the week commences, the critical question remains whether the $65,000 level will sustain as a near-term pivot, or if BTC will continue in a prolonged base-building phase.