Bitcoin’s price may not be on the cusp of renewed price expansion in the near future, according to a recent on-chain data assessment. Interestingly, this hypothesis appears to coincide with repeated data recovery attempts by the flagship cryptocurrency over the past few weeks.

BTC Net reached a peak profit of USD 17 million/hour. before the prices drop quickly

In a March 20 post on X’s social media platform, supply chain research firm Glassnode revealed what was behind Bitcoin’s recent reversal from what initially looked like an expansion move. This is based on the Net Realized Profit/Loss (NRPL) metric (24-hour moving average), which reflects whether the market is overwhelmingly realizing profits or losses by tracking (and comparing) the amount realized by holders over a 24-hour period.

Glassnode highlighted that NRPL indicator readings recently peaked at around $17 million per hour before Bitcoin’s price began to decline again. This trend was presented as one of the factors responsible for the flagship cryptocurrency losing $70,000.

According to the analyst firm, increased profit-taking activity among Bitcoin investors continues to absorb the upward momentum, thus turning it into bearish pressure. It is worth noting that this pattern has repeated itself at many points in the current cycle, especially as Bitcoin has tried to rally higher.

Glassnode further explained that the degree of uncertainty currently present in the geopolitical world has resulted in a reduction in “depth of demand.” As a result, execution events such as the recent one have become too complex for the market to absorb, which explains the recent drop below $70,000.

Interestingly, this is not an independent reason for BTC’s activity. After Bitcoin fell below the $85,000 support, a surge in on-chain activity was seen as investors repositioned liquidity.

However, decreasing market liquidity in recent weeks suggests that the recovery in BTC prices will be favorable seller exhaustion rather than through mighty and consistent demand. Therefore, the economic recovery period is shortened each time sellers enter the market

Short-term holders realize losses as the price approaches 74,000. dollars

For example, cryptocurrency analyst Darkfost highlighted that short-term Bitcoin investors have seen more losses in recent weeks. This is reflected in the readings of the holder’s short-term profit and loss statement to the Exchange Sum ratio.

In his post on X, Darkfost revealed that over 28,000 BTC was recently sent to exchanges, and these investors appear to have cut their losses. The analyst noted that these losses continued to mount as Bitcoin’s price continued to decline.

For this reason, it is secure to expect more bearish pressure from this cohort of investors, as additional panic selling would likely contribute to greater bearish momentum in the Bitcoin market. So instead of a hopeful story of positive expectations, Bitcoin’s price appears to be giving investors warning signs.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $70,532, which does not reflect any significant movement over the past day.

Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView