Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin must climb 92% to rescue last year’s $120K buyers and the escape routes begin at $72K – Crypto News

Published

40 minutes ago

July 17, 2026

Dripp

A $1,000 Bitcoin purchase made when Bitcoin crossed $120,000 this time last year is now worth $520. That leaves investors with a 47.98% loss and requires a 92.2% rebound to be made whole before fees.

CryptoSlate’s Bitcoin market data shows a price of $64,073 as of press time.

The July 2025milestone marked its first move above $120,000, reaching a record $123,165. A later all-time high of $126,198 followed on Oct. 6, 2025.

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The first pressure points sit well below either record. A rebound toward the anniversary entry would cross two on-chain cost bases, at which other investors may sell as their losses shrink.

The first recovery tests come before $100,000

Glassnode’s Week 27 research placed the Short-Term Holder Cost Basis, an aggregate breakeven for recent buyers, near $72,200. It put the True Market Mean, a broader cost-basis measure for active investors, near $76,600. Bitcoin had traded roughly five months below both measures.

Those aggregate benchmark figures represent cohort averages and show where more investors could move back toward breakeven; individual entry prices and sell orders vary.

Checkpoint	Gain required	Level type	What it could test
$72,200	12.7%	Short-Term Holder Cost Basis	Demand as recent buyers return toward aggregate breakeven
$76,600	19.6%	True Market Mean	Demand as the broader active market returns toward aggregate breakeven
$100,000	56.1%	Psychological threshold	Whether recovery extends well beyond the first cost-basis checkpoints
$123,165	92.2%	July 2025 anniversary entry	Whether the milestone buyer is made whole before fees

At the two nearest cost bases, the anniversary buyer’s loss would shrink, while other holders would gain an earlier chance to exit.

Some may continue holding after returning to profit. Others may reduce exposure after spending months underwater. The strength of demand at those points determines whether that potential supply is absorbed.

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Glassnode’s July 13 update said Bitcoin’s move toward $64,000 lacked broad conviction because spot participation and on-chain activity are weak. By July 15, the firm said long-term-holder capitulation was cooling, and buyers had absorbed the June lows, but it still described the bottom as a work in progress.