Bitcoin recent price movements have been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. Earlier this week, BTC traded below $90,000 and quickly bounced back to above $100,000. As of today, the asset now hovers above $98,000.
Amid this price performance, CryptoQuant contributor XBTManager has provided insights into an important on-chain metric, highlighting a notable shift in the 6-12 month spent output age bands. This activity sheds light on possible market dynamics and future price developments.
Analyzing Bitcoin’s Spent Output Age Bands
The 6-12 month spent output age band reveals instances where long-held Bitcoin is moved, offering a glimpse into shifting market behavior.
According to XBTManager, a significant amount—49,700 BTC—has recently been spent in this category today. Such substantial movement can often precede market volatility, as it may signal larger holders or dormant wallets re-entering active circulation.
This sudden activity raises questions about how the market might react. Historically, large movements in older Bitcoin holdings can create temporary selling pressure. If these coins are sold, it can lead to short-term further price drops, potentially causing retail investors to panic.
However, this downward trend can also set the stage for a rebound, with prices recovering as buyers absorb the new supply. The analyst wrote:
A large portion of these Bitcoins is expected to be sold in the coming days, potentially creating selling pressure in the market. This could cause retail investors to panic and sell at lower prices. Subsequently, prices might be pushed back up, enabling these Bitcoins to be sold to retail investors at higher prices. Therefore, such movements can be seen as signs of market manipulation. Investors should remain cautious about potential market fluctuations in the coming days.
Bitcoin Market Performance
Meanwhile, Bitcoin continues to face selling pressure, with the asset unable to sustain a notable rebound or reclaim key levels. So far, Bitcoin has seen quite a plunge dropping roughly 10% from its all-time high above $109,000 registered in January.
In the past week, the asset has also declined 3.5% bringing its price to trade at $98,485, at the time of writing down by 0.5% in the past day. This price decline in BTC has affected the broader crypto market significantly with over $3 billion liquidated in the crypto market in just the past few days.
Interestingly, despite this negative price performance from BTC, the asset’s daily trading volume has however seen an opposite trend recording an increase from below $40 billion this time last week to sitting above $58 billion as of today.
Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView
