High Percentage Of Bitcoin, Eth, Sol Held At A Loss: Is It A Bear...

One analyst found that 40% of Bitcoin is held at a loss, while ETH and SOL data currently stand at 40% and 75% respectively. Should investors be worried?

Recent data from Glassnode showed Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Solana (SOL) reflecting record high levels of their supply held at a loss.

However, a closer examination of the locked supply, institutional holdings, and staking structures revealed that the effective liquid supply under pressure is significantly lower than the implied percentages, especially for Ether and Solana.

A significant portion of Ether and SOL held at a loss is not liquid, with over 40% of ETH and more than 75% of SOL locked in staking, ETFs, or strategic reserves.

Bitcoin’s at-loss supply appeared high, but institutional holdings and lost BTC supply significantly reduce its true liquid float.

Bitcoin currently has 35% of its supply held at a loss, a level last seen when BTC traded near $27,000. However, even without a staking mechanism, Bitcoin’s liquid supply is far lower than the numbers suggest. The key statistics are outlined below:

BTC held by public/private companies, ETFs, and countries: 3,725,013 BTC

BTC lost forever (estimates): 3,000,000–3,800,000 BTC. This represents 15.0% to 19.0% of the total circulating supply.

Combined, these factors remove roughly 33% of all Bitcoin from liquid circulation. Institutional holdings, particularly ETF treasuries and corporate treasuries, are not sensitive to short-term volatility, as they operate under mandates tied to reserves, long-horizon accumulation, or index tracking. The lost BTC further reduced the supply that can react to loss-driven pressure.

Ether figures required a more nuanced interpretation. While 37% of ETH is currently held at a loss, a substantial portion of the network’s supply is locked or institutionally held:

Source: CoinTelegraph