Bitcoin holders saw net losses of more than $2.5 billion last week in a 'capitulation for the history books,' crypto research firm says

• From May 17 to May 24 bitcoin holders realized net losses of $2.56 billion, according to Glassnode.
• The losses were 185% greater than those experienced during the COVID-19-related March 2020 sell-off.
• Glassnode says most sellers were new bitcoiners who acquired the currency in the past three to six months.

Last week was a "capitulation for the history books" in bitcoin, according to the blockchain data and intelligence firm Glassnode.

From May 17 to May 24, bitcoin holders realized net losses of $2.56 billion, according to data from the firm.

That's a 185% increase from bitcoin holder's previous largest weekly loss which came during the March 2020 COVID-19 sell-off.

The number of unique entities on-chain who hold a profit also fell during the week to 76%, after spiking to above 90% in late 2020 and early 2021.

Bitcoin's price fell from above $45,000 on May 17 to as low as $30,000 per coin before mounting a recovery to end the week.

Glassnode described the week's events as an example of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) entering the crypto community.

However, according to the firm, a large percentage of the recent spending activity was driven by "short-term holders" who bought bitcoin within the last three to six months.

Bitcoin's rough ride started on May 12 when Elon Musk said Tesla would no longer accept the cryptocurrency as a form of payment due to its environmental impact.

Then, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and the State Council reiterated previous calls for limits on crypto mining and trading in China, adding to the bearish downturn.

This week bitcoin has recovered to trade around $38,000 per coin and there have been a number of potentially bullish developments.

First, Elon Musk and noted bitcoin evangelist Michael Saylor spoke with North American Bitcoin miners who committed to publishing current and planned renewable energy usage statistics.

Musk called the development "potentially promising" in what seemed to be a new tone from the billionaire CEO.

Ray Dalio also said he owns "some bitcoin" in an interview with CoinDesk on Monday. The billionaire hedge fund manager added that he'd rather own bitcoin than bonds in this inflationary environment.

Despite the push from Musk, Dalio, and Saylor, bitcoin has yet to break past the $40,000 per coin mark and it still down roughly 40% from its record high of $63,729.50.