Bitcoin Wells, Sharks Earn $337 Million in Daily Losses in Q1 2026
Bitcoin (BTC) traders holding 100-10,000 BTC lost an average of $337 million per day in Q1 2026, the worst quarter since 2022, according to data from Glassnode.
Main Receptors:
Bitcoin is down more than 20 percent after whales report losses at the same rate in 2022.
Long-term holders are also selling at a loss, indicating a lack of capital and further price falls.
BTC Wells, the sharks have a loss of $30.91 billion in 2026
Realized Loss tracks the total dollar value of the loss locked in when BTC is sold on the chain below the purchase price. In the year In 2026, two significant wallets will show signs of capitalization.
They are addresses that hold 100-1,000 BTC or “sharks” that usually represent mid-sized funds or wealthy investors and hold 1,000-10,000 BTC, which are whale-sized entities.
In Q1, Bitcoin sharks (yellow) lost an average of $188.5 million per day, while whales (orange) took in another $147.5 million daily.
Combined, these large entities have locked in about $30.91 billion in actual losses through 2026.
Bitcoin's realized losses in Q1 2026 were among the heaviest on record for these high net worth entities, with a daily average of just $396 million for Q2 2022.
In Q2 2022, the price of BTC fell by more than 50% and by the end of the year another 20%. The collapse of Terra, the freezing of Celsius and the failure of Three Arrows triggered panic in crypto, eroding liquidity and confidence.
In the year Pressure on Bitcoin has come from a variety of sources, including the threat of inflation based on a war with Iran in 2026, the threat of quantum-security, and broader anxiety in AI-driven risk trading.
Related: Bitcoin supply levels into ‘true bear market' in profit heads
Therefore, whales and sharks are now cutting their losses as they expect Bitcoin's price to fall further as macro risks increase. This sentiment raises the chances of a 2022-style bear market low in Q4 2026.
Long-term holdings of Bitcoin add to downside risks
Another indicator that the Bitcoin selloff may not be over is Glassnode's Long-Term Holder Realized Loss chart, which tracks the losses locked in by investors who held coins for more than six months before the sale.
From November 2025, this figure has risen to around $200 million per day on a 30-day average basis.
Glassnode analysts said in their weekly report published Wednesday that a “meaningful freeze below $25M per day indicates weakness in selling pressure.”
“The Base Formation Precedence Historically Prior to the Sustainable Bull Market Transition.”
Together, these headwinds have fueled calls for a deeper BTC correction, with some analysts pointing to the $40,000 to $50,000 range as possible.
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