Increased Bitcoin Sell-Offs Amid Price Struggles: Where Is the BTC Heading?

As Bitcoin's value has diminished by approximately $3,500 recently—dropping from over $70,000 in early March to about $66,500—short-term holders are beginning to sell off their investments. Notably, in one particularly volatile trading session, around 22,000 BTC was transferred to exchanges. However, despite the recent dips, Bitcoin continues to maintain its support levels and has not dipped below $60,000.

Key Takeaways

Bitcoin's value has recently dropped to around $66,500, with significant sell-offs by short-term holders.
Despite fluctuations, Bitcoin maintains its position above key support levels.
Institutional investors are accumulating Bitcoin through spot ETFs, purchasing approximately 63,000 BTC in the last month.
March 2026 brings a net inflow of $1.2 billion into US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs, indicating a renewed institutional interest.
Continued absorption by larger buyers may reduce the available supply for sellers while demand remains robust.

Bitcoin Bounce Fails As Short-Term Holders Rush To Take Profit

This situation raises an intriguing question that's even more critical than the ongoing sell-off: Who is absorbing the Bitcoin that's being sold?

ETF Demand Is Acting as a Market Support

Short-term holders, who acquired their Bitcoin relatively recently and are more sensitive to price declines, are increasingly putting their coins up for sale on exchanges. Yet, on-chain data from CryptoQuant indicates a counter-balancing trend of a similar magnitude.

Recent information suggests that Bitcoin is consistently moving into the hands of institutional investors, mainly through spot ETFs. Over the last month, approximately 63,000 BTC has been accumulated by these institutions. This accumulation sharply contrasts with the selling pressure from short-term holders.

The accompanying ETF flows chart illustrates this point: it shows green bars indicating ETF inflows consistently offsetting red bars representing outflows, even on days when price movements didn't meet expectations. This pattern shows that larger buyers are stepping in to purchase BTC during market dips, effectively absorbing available liquidity.

Bitcoin sell-offs

Bitcoin ETF Tracker. Source: @CryptoTice_ On X

Are Sellers Depleting Their Bitcoin Supply?

March has seen fluctuations in Bitcoin's price, including a brief surge above $76,000, only to fall back under pressure due to increased selling activity towards the month's end. Currently, it seems likely that Bitcoin will close March below $70,000, risking a six-month streak of bearish closes. As of now, Bitcoin is trading at $67,339, only 0.57% above its March opening price of $66,970.

On a more positive note, as of March 2026, US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs have reported net inflows of $1.2 billion. This marks a shift from four consecutive months of net outflows and indicates that institutional interest is slowly returning after a period of diminished participation.

Even though these inflows haven't entirely counteracted the selling pressure from short-term holders, they do signal a renewed willingness among larger investors to accumulate Bitcoin at current prices. Ultimately, since short-term holders possess a limited supply of coins acquired at recent prices, ongoing absorption at this current rate could mean a declining supply for sellers while demand remains strong.

Bitcoin price chart from Tradingview.com BTC continues sideways movement | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com