Bitcoin sinks 5% below $65K amid rising whale sales and fresh buyer losses

Bitcoin opened the week under renewed pressure, falling 5% over the past 24 hours to trade around $64,700. The decline comes as risk assets soften more broadly — U.S. equity futures are lower, led by a 0.9% drop in Nasdaq 100 contracts — while safe havens surge, with gold up 2% and silver gaining 5.6%.

The latest leg down follows a weekend rejection near $67,000 and coincides with on-chain data from Glassnode and CryptoQuant that suggests the acute phase of panic selling may be fading, though the broader market structure remains fragile.

Short-term holders still underwater

Glassnode metrics show that earlier this month, short-term bitcoin holders were crystallizing substantial losses. A seven-day smoothed measure of their net realized profit and loss fell to negative $1.24 billion per day on Feb. 6, meaning newer market participants were collectively locking in more than $1 billion in daily losses.

That pace has eased to roughly negative $480 million per day. While the intensity of capitulation has moderated, short-term investors are still selling at a net loss — behavior more consistent with bottom-building conditions than with a healthy uptrend.

Large holders lead exchange activity

CryptoQuant’s exchange flow data points to a cooling in outright liquidation, but also to a shift in who is selling. During the early-February slide toward $60,000, bitcoin inflows to exchanges spiked to roughly 60,000 BTC per day. On a seven-day smoothed basis, that figure has since fallen to about 23,000 BTC.

However, CryptoQuant’s exchange whale ratio has climbed to 0.64, its highest level since 2015. This means nearly two-thirds of bitcoin sent to exchanges is coming from just the 10 largest daily deposits — a sign that whales are dominating supply.

The average deposit size has also risen to levels last seen in mid-2022, reinforcing the view that larger players, rather than retail traders, are driving current exchange flows.

Altcoins are seeing broader distribution as well. Average daily altcoin deposits to exchanges have climbed to approximately 49,000 so far in 2026, up from around 40,000 in the fourth quarter of 2025. Elevated altcoin inflows have historically aligned with increased volatility and weaker risk sentiment.

Stablecoin flows contract

Liquidity indicators are also softening. Net USDT inflows to exchanges have shrunk dramatically from a one-year peak of $616 million in November to just $27 million, briefly turning negative in late January. Stablecoin inflows typically expand during rallies; their contraction suggests waning marginal buying power.

Combined, the data from Glassnode and CryptoQuant portrays a market that has endured a capitulation wave but has yet to rebuild durable demand. As trading gets underway this week, attention is centered on whether $65,000 can hold as near-term support — or whether bitcoin remains in a prolonged phase of consolidation and base formation.