Retail traders bought 6,870 BTC in a day above $91,400, even as LTHs strengthened and prices reversed rapidly.
Bitcoin traders on Binance scooped up 6,870 BTC in a single day after the price surpassed $91,400 this week, even as long-term holders (LTH) used their strength to cash out.
The buying frenzy comes against a backdrop of sharp liquidations and dwindling volumes, which has raised doubts about how long the retail momentum will last.
Retail sales pile up as long-term holders sell in force
Data from on-chain analyst Amr Taha, released just hours before the price drop, painted a clear picture of a market at a potential turning point. On November 23, realized capitalization for short-term holders (STH), which essentially forms the basis of the total cost of BTC held for less than 155 days, exceeded $51 billion.
This is the highest level since December 2024 and signals a significant influx of eager new capital entering the market. According to Taha, these peaks have historically coincided with market highs.
Meanwhile, the realized cap for LTH moved in the opposite direction, falling by around $47 billion, which the analyst said shows that experienced investors, who were buying at lower prices, were distributing their BTC to new retail buyers.
This exact trend was seen before significant corrections in December 2024 and March 2024. As Taha noted: “Whenever STH buys aggressively while LTH sells to them, the price tends to calm down soon after.” The subsequent $5,000 drop in Bitcoin price within hours validated this historical precedent.
The retail buying frenzy was primarily focused on Binance. When the flagship cryptocurrency surpassed $91,400, daily retail buying volume on the exchange reached a record 6,870 BTC, worth around $628 million at the time.
You might also like:
Market tremors amid direction search
A review of the market shows that the price action has been rather violent. Over the past day, commentators such as Wise Crypto and The Kobeissi Letter have reported that over $600 million in long crypto positions have been wiped out, including a single $14.48 million ETH/USDC position on Binance, with one-hour windows alone allowing around $200 million to be liquidated.
Ash Crypto described a $5,000 drop in the price of BTC in three hours, claiming that more than $200 billion had been erased from the total value of the crypto market without any obvious macro or regulatory triggers and calling it “pure manipulation to eliminate leverage again.”
Bitcoin now finds itself consolidating between key levels. The asset is stuck between major support near $84,570, where over 610,000 BTC last moved, and a significant resistance ceiling around $112,340.
Meanwhile, the rejection from the $91,800 area pushed BTC to trade around $86,300, down 5% in the last 24 hours and testing the lower limits of its recent range.
SECRET PARTNERSHIP BONUS for CryptoPotato readers: Use this link to sign up and unlock $1,500 in exclusive BingX Exchange rewards (limited time offer).
