Bitcoin (BTC) may see a break from selling pressure thanks to traders’ profit margins hitting “basically zero.”

In analysis uploaded to X (formerly Twitter) on April 18, Julio Moreno, head of research at on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, flagged a possible turning point in Bitcoin price downside.

Bitcoin traders reach line in the sand for profit margins

Bitcoin and crypto traders have been punished by a week of BTC price drops, but a key reset is in the making.

According to CryptoQuant data, traders have returned to breakeven point on exchange holdings at $60,000.

“Bitcoin selling pressure from traders may be declining as unrealized profit margins are basically zero now,” Moreno summarized.

An accompanying chart showed profit/loss for short-term holders (STHs) — Bitcoin entities owning BTC for 155 days or less.

These speculators have effectively run out of profitable trades, suggesting that selling may now subside to avoid realizing losses.

Moreno added:

“Traders' realized price (pink line) has acted as support for prices during a bull market and it's now at ~$60K.”

So far, only one brief dip below the $60,000 has been encountered since BTC/USD began retracing from new all-time highs in March.

Such retracements, as Cointelegraph reported, are classic occurrences when all-time highs are broken, and the surprising new peak coming before this week’s block subsidy halving heightened expectations of a BTC price correction.

Returns to STHs’ realized price has frequently marked bottoms, and the trendline has buoyed the market almost continuously since the end of the 2022 bear market.

Only for a brief period in August last year did BTC/USD trade below STH realized price.

BTC price tentatively bounces

Bitcoin meanwhile saw a relief bounce on April 18, reaching $64,182 on Bitstamp, per data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView.

Related: $70K BTC price by the halving? 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

“This is now an -18% deep pullback that has lasted 10 days thus far Depth-wise, this is very close to bargain-buying territory based on pullbacks in this cycle (up to -23% deep at most),” popular trader and analyst Rekt Capital noted on the day.

“Time-wise however, this is still one of the shortest retracements in this cycle (currently only 10 days long). Previous pullbacks have lasted 2-3 weeks and at most up to two months.”

Fellow trader Skew suggested that more evidence of spot demand was needed for confidence in a full-fledged recovery.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.