[Bitcoin Now] Selling at a Loss... Drops Below $19,000 for the First Time in 2 Months

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] As Bitcoin prices continue to decline, the proportion of investors selling at a loss rather than making a profit is increasing.

According to cryptocurrency data firm CryptoQuant on the 7th, as of the 6th of this month, Bitcoin's SOPR (Spent Output Profit Ratio) was recorded at 0.99. SOPR represents the ratio of the price when an investor sends Bitcoin to the price when it was received; a value above 1 indicates a higher proportion of cryptocurrencies sold at a profit, while a value of 1 or below suggests a higher proportion sold at a loss. Bitcoin's SOPR has been below 1 on all but four days from the 18th of last month to the 6th of this month.

For Bitcoin short-term SOPR held by investors for less than 155 days, the value has also been below 1 since the 18th of last month. The SOPR of long-term investors holding for more than 155 days shows relatively high volatility but overall trends downward. In early June, Bitcoin's long-term SOPR was recorded at 0.84, falling to 0.56 by the 6th of this month.

The fact that Bitcoin's SOPR remains below 1 indicates that Bitcoin prices have failed to rebound after the decline. From early to the 19th of last month, Bitcoin prices were in the $23,000 range but plunged to the $21,000 range starting on the 20th. Following Jerome Powell's hawkish speech at the Jackson Hole meeting, concerns about tightening emerged, and from the 27th, prices hovered between $19,000 and $20,000.

On this day, Bitcoin prices are showing a decline of over 6%. According to the global cryptocurrency market tracking site CoinMarketCap, as of 9:56 a.m., Bitcoin was trading at $18,844 (approximately 26.09 million KRW), down 6.02% from the previous day.

Cryptocurrency specialized media CoinDesk explained that investors are cautious about risky assets, including cryptocurrencies, which is causing Bitcoin prices to weaken. Despite concerns about economic slowdown, expectations that the Federal Reserve will implement a giant step (a 0.75 percentage point increase in the benchmark interest rate) at this month's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting to stabilize inflation appear to have influenced the market.

The U.S. stock market, which shows a synchronized trend, also closed lower. On the 6th (local time), the tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed at 11,544.91, down 85.96 points (-0.74%). The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 173.14 points (-0.55%) to 31,145.30, and the S&P 500 index closed at 3,908.19, down 16.07 points (-0.41%).