The average purchase price this year is approximately $97,880, leaving investors facing unrealized losses of nearly 20% at current prices.
Updated Feb 28, 2025 1:03 pm UTC Published Feb 28, 2025 9:08 am UTC
What to consider:
- Bitcoin is down 22% in February and nearly 18% this week.
- Both figures are the worst for BTC since 2022.
- The average purchase price of Bitcoin this year is around $97,880, while investors have faced unrealized losses of over 18%.
Bitcoin (BTC) is set for its worst month in three years, falling 22% as President Donald Trump's tariffs on major U.S. trading partners raise concerns about accelerating inflation, a diminishing likelihood of interest rate cuts and a waning appetite for risky investments.
The last time the world's largest cryptocurrency saw such a sharp decline was in June 2022, when its value fell by more than a third. This week alone, BTC is down nearly 18%, its biggest drop since the week ending November 13 of that year.
The decline leaves investors who bought Bitcoin this year in a tough spot. The average purchase price since early January is $97,880, and BTC fell below $80,000 on Friday, putting average buyers down about 18%.
Historically, this is not unusual. Investors often experience some unrealized losses early in the year. This happens when the price of Bitcoin falls below its base value before recovering later in the year.
On-chain data shows that realized losses have been increasing as the price has fallen. Nearly $1 billion in realized losses have been recorded daily over the past three days, the highest since the yen trade was cancelled in August, when Bitcoin fell to $49,000.
Additionally, according to TradingView data, the cryptocurrency market cap has shrunk by a whopping $1.1 trillion, bringing the total value to $2.59 trillion.
