Bloomberg: Bitcoin ETF Investors' Average Buy-in Cost Around $84,100, Currently Seeing a Paper Loss of About 8% to 9%

Feb. 3 — According to Bloomberg, the core driver behind Bitcoin’s current “slow” selloff is that the group of investors expected to step in as key support and a new stable buying force has failed to keep entering the market. Glassnode data shows U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF investors have an average cost basis of roughly $84,100. With Bitcoin currently hovering around $78,500, this group is sitting on a paper loss of 8-9%. This isn’t the first time ETF investors have been underwater. Back in November 2023, when Bitcoin briefly fell below $89,600 — the average cost basis for ETF investors then — analysts noted this would be a key test of the new mainstream investors’ conviction. Though still profitable amid inflows into early 2024, the overall average cost basis for ETF holders has fallen, and latecomers are now all underwater. From its peak, Bitcoin has dropped more than 35% from its 2024 high and briefly dipped below $77k during a low-liquidity weekend trading session. Analysts cite multiple factors: fading inflows, shrinking market liquidity, and waning macro appeal overall. Bitcoin has failed to budge on traditional bullish cues like a weaker dollar or geopolitical tensions, and its decoupling from other assets has left its trend increasingly directionless. The biggest contrast between the October selloff and the current downturn is sentiment: there’s no panic now — just “absence.” The 2024 rally that pushed Bitcoin above $125k was fueled by a hyper-bullish outlook on regulation, institutional adoption, and retail momentum. But after the October selloff wiped out billions in leveraged positions, the buyers who powered that rally have now stepped to the sidelines to wait.