Bitcoin Spot Demand Weighed Down by Weak Long-Term Holder Accumulation

Bitcoin's spot demand remains weak, according to Darkfost, an analyst at CryptoQuant. The 'apparent demand' metric, which measures the extent to which long-term holder accumulation absorbs new supply, is in negative territory at -112,500 BTC. This indicates that long-term holders are not accumulating at a pace sufficient to keep up with new issuance.

The apparent demand has been trending toward improvement since September 20, but still reflects overall demand weakness. Short-term holders' unrealized profit margin has reached approximately 33%, the highest level since December 2024. This is causing some selling pressure as short-term holders realize profits on their BTC holdings.

CryptoQuant notes that rising profitability can become a source of selling pressure, and warns that the issue is not profit-taking itself but rather the weakening demand at a time when supply is increasing. The pace of expansion in futures market trading has also slowed, making short-term profit-taking incentives relatively more attractive.