Bitcoin Price Stuck Below $87.7K as Underwater Holders Cap Gains: Glassnode

Bitcoin investors sitting on unrealized losses are now capping BTC price upside near $87,700, according to new onchain research from Glassnode. The resistance zone reflects the aggregate cost basis of two cohorts of underwater buyers, whose tendency to exit at breakeven creates persistent sell-side pressure that new demand has struggled to absorb.

The six-to-12-month holder cohort, which entered positions in the latter stages of 2025, carries a cost basis of $87,700. A second cohort of one-to-two-year holders has a cost basis of $99,500, having slipped into aggregate loss in February. According to Glassnode, both groups have repeatedly rejected rallies back to their breakeven levels. "Bitcoin rose to the 6-12 month cost basis in January and then fell by more than a third," the analytics firm noted. "It met the 1-2 year cost basis in May and fell by about a quarter." The $87,000 area is further reinforced by technical levels, including the 2026 year-to-date open at $87,490 and the 20-month simple moving average at $87,165.

On the support side, ETF inflows are anchoring bid liquidity around the psychologically important $80,000 level. Glassnode data shows the one-to-two-year cohort ramped up selling into the early October rally, adding to overhead resistance. The interplay between trapped longs exiting at breakeven and sustained institutional demand below suggests BTC remains range-bound until one of these cohorts either capitulates or breaks decisively above cost basis.

The current setup echoes earlier rejections in November 2025 and January 2026, when price reversed sharply after touching the $94,000 and $97,100 trendlines, respectively. With BTC trading around $83,500, Glassnode's analysts are watching whether buyers can reclaim the $87,000 cluster or whether the $80,000 floor will be tested next.