'Fear' returns to Bitcoin while long-term holders own just 3% of BTC unrealized losses

Bitcoin (BTC) diving nearly 20% from all-time highs has finally taken its toll on market sentiment — investors are now “afraid.”

According to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, overnight losses on Nov. 19 removed the last traces of “greed” away from traders’ minds.

From “greed” to “fear” in two days

As BTC price action headed lower this week, sentiment played catch-up as spot price contrasted with still bullish signals from markets.

Derivatives traders were — and to an extent still are — in a phase of exuberance, with some still betting on a dramatic price rebound in the short term.

Overall sentiment, as measured by the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, has now changed to correspond to spot more closely.

At the time of writing, the Index measured just 34/100 — characterizing “fear” — having dived a full 20 points overnight.

The sharp fall contrasts strongly with behavior for much of the past two months, where the Index lingered in “greed” territory around the low 70s.

As such, investors are now at their most fearful since the end of September, just before Bitcoin began its surge to recent all-time highs.

Crypto Fear & Greed Index. Source: Alternative.me

Old hands stand firm

Some investors may be more fearful than others.

Related: Bitcoin clings to $56K as whales keep buying — Watch these BTC price levels

As Cointelegraph noted, whales have been accumulating even as prices continued to drop, while a clear difference between old and new hodlers is also visible.

This is underscored by figures showing the overall percentage of the BTC supply currently not in profit.

As noted by on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, long-term holders (LTH) have engaged in minimal selling recently, and hold just 3% of the supply, which is currently not in profit.

Short-term holders (STH) — coins that have moved in the past 155 days — have taken the brunt of the sell-off.

“STHs who bought the top currently hold the majority of all BTC at an unrealised loss,” Glassnode wrote in Twitter comments Friday.