[DigitalToday intern reporter Seung-a Yoo (유승아)] Bitcoin long-term holders overall kept unrealised gains even in this cycle’s bear market.

CoinPost, a blockchain media outlet, reported on Oct. 5 (local time) that on-chain analytics firm Glassnode said the LTH-MVRV indicator, which shows long-term holders’ profitability, did not fall below 1 even at this cycle’s low.

Glassnode classifies long-term holders (LTH) as investors holding bitcoin that has not moved for more than 155 days. LTH-MVRV is calculated by dividing the market capitalisation of bitcoin held by long-term holders by its realised market capitalisation. A reading above 1 means the group is in unrealised profit, while a reading below 1 indicates unrealised losses.

The key point is that the indicator did not enter the loss zone in this downturn. Glassnode said long-term holders "maintained unrealised gains throughout this cycle" and that "there has been no such case in a bear market since at least 2015".

In past bear markets, LTH-MVRV fell below 1 at each cycle low, pushing the entire long-term holder group into unrealised losses. In this cycle, the indicator stopped falling while still above 1 and has recently been rising again. This shows the average purchase price for the long-term holder group was formed at a relatively low level in this cycle.

Bitcoin’s price action also supports that. Bitcoin fell to $58,379 on June 30 from a record high of about $126,000 set in October 2025. The drop from the peak was about 54 percent. As of Oct. 4, it was trading in the mid-$80,000 range.

Even among long-term holders, profits and losses are mixed. Coins bought near the peak remain in the loss zone. Glassnode data released on Oct. 4 showed the average purchase price for bitcoin acquired 1 year to 2 years ago was about $97,000, and the average purchase price for holdings acquired 6 months to 12 months ago was also higher than the current price at about $89,000. Glassnode’s Oct. 4 data also show realised prices for those bands at about $97,259 and $88,852, respectively.

Selling patterns also differed by holding period. So far this year, bitcoin acquired during the 2025 rally had the largest daily selling volume, but selling of bitcoin acquired during the current downtrend remained limited. This can be interpreted as investors who entered near the recent low continuing to hold rather than liquidating in the short term.

This suggests selling pressure near the market bottom could differ from past bear markets. Even if the long-term holder group overall remains in unrealised profit, losses on coins bought near the peak still remain. It will need to be watched when those holdings might come to market as bitcoin’s price recovers.

bitcoin:native long-term holders stayed in profit this entire cycle. No bear market since at least 2015 has done that. In each prior bear, LTH-MVRV fell below 1 at the cycle low, putting the cohort underwater. This time it bottomed above 1 and is now climbing again. https://t.co/7WzdYgCaTH