The CryptoQuant founder explained that Bitcoin cannot currently be “pumped” based on the discrepancy in market capitalization and realized capitalization.
Bitcoin market capitalization declined even as it was realized that Cap had increased
In the up-to-date one post on X, CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju spoke about the difference in growth seen over the past year between BTC Market Cap and Realized Cap.
Market capitalization is simply the total supply value of a cryptocurrency at the current spot price. Realized Cap is also a model for calculating the total valuation of BTC, but it does not require such a plain approach. This on-chain capitalization model assumes that the “real” value of any coin in circulation is equal to the spot price at which it was last transacted on the blockchain.
In low, Realized Cap means the amount that Bitcoin investors as a whole have put into the cryptocurrency. Market capitalization, on the other hand, represents the value they hold in the present.
Generally speaking, changes in the former, which can be considered capital inflows/outflows, cause changes in the latter. Below is a chart showing how market capitalization responds to fluctuations in realized capitalization.
As shown in the chart, the difference in growth rate between Bitcoin’s market capitalization and realized capitalization was positive in mid-2025, suggesting that the market capitalization was growing faster than realized capitalization. However, this changed in the last quarter of the year when the indicator fell into the negative zone due to the market collapse.
In 2026, this rate only dropped further as cryptocurrency prices continued to fall. “Bitcoin cannot be pumped right now,” Young Ju noted. The CryptoQuant founder pointed out the contrast in market dynamics in 2024–2025 to emphasize his point.
In 2024, a $10 billion enhance in realized capitalization was enough to result in a $26 billion enhance in market capitalization. In 2025, as much as $308 billion of capital flowed into this asset, even though its market capitalization actually declined by $98 billion. “The selling pressure is too great to have a multiplier effect,” the analyst explained.
In other news, New Whales on the Bitcoin network have recently capitulated, as noted by CryptoQuant community analyst Maartunn in X post.
“New Whales” are investors who have entered the market in the last 155 days and have over 1,000 BTC on their balance. During the recent price decline, this cohort suffered massive losses, including a acute enhance in losses of $1.46 billion on February 5.
BTC price
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $68,500, down more than 12% in the last seven days.
