The behavior of Bitcoin in 2025 has been volatile, marked by historical highs and deep corrections. However, amid that noise, a group of investors managed to stand out quietly: the short-term holders.
We are talking about addresses that hold BTC for between 1 and 3 months. According to on-chain data, this group spent most of 2025 in profits, despite the strong market fluctuations.
What the data says
An analysis from CryptoQuant reveals that short-term holders were profitable during 66% of the trading days of the year, that is, 230 days in the positive.
During the first half of 2025, the price of Bitcoin frequently remained above the average realized price of this group, allowing many recent purchases to close with profits.
The mid-year momentum
Between May and October, the most favorable period occurred:
BTC surpassed $100,000
In July, it reached levels above $115,000
The unrealized profit margin of short-term holders reached 20%
This movement was supported by strong institutional inflows into Bitcoin spot ETFs, which helped absorb profit-taking and sustain the price.
The outlook changes
In recent weeks, the situation reversed:
The realized price of short-term holders hovers around $100,000
Bitcoin trades near $90,000
The profit/loss margin fell to -10%
Worse still, when BTC lost $85,000 in November, this group faced its largest loss regime of the year, with margins close to -20%.
Key reading
👉 In 2025, short-term holdings were highly profitable for much of the year, especially in phases of bullish momentum supported by institutional flow.
👉 However, the large pockets of current losses often appear in late stages of structural corrections, which could indicate that the market is still digesting the previous excess.
The question now is not whether the short term was profitable, but whether that environment can be repeated without a new strong catalyst.
#bitcoin #OnChainDataInsights #CryptoAnalysis #ETFs #MarketCycles $BTC
