Amid recent Bitcoin losses and volatility, more than a quarter—26%—of the Bitcoin supply is now “underwater,” meaning it is worth less than what it was purchased for.

This marks a stark reversal of fortunes for investors in recent months, according to data collected by market analysis tool CryptoQuant. On December 15, only 0.015% of the BTC supply was “underwater,” meaning only a very slim percentage of BTC held was without an unrealized gain for investors. As recently as January 18, the percentage of Bitcoin being held at a loss sat at just 1.46%.

But according to CryptoQuant’s data, this percentage has been slowly rising since Jan. 18, as macroeconomic concerns have impacted the prices of crypto assets. The Bitcoin price is currently sitting at $76,880.56 after having fallen 3.7% in  the past 24 hours, while Ethereum is down 8.1% over the last 24 hours according to CoinGecko data, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods came into play on Tuesday at midnight.

The last time such a significant proportion of the Bitcoin supply was in the red was September 6 last year, when the number hit just shy of 30%. Though at the time of writing Bitcoin is trading significantly higher than it was on September 6, when it traded at roughly $56,000, the number of “underwater” Bitcoin remains roughly comparable.

This could reflect the near-record level of inflows into BTC in late 2024 and early 2025, amid the crypto bull run accompanying the election of President Donald Trump, at historically high prices.

Though the number of Bitcoin “underwater” has appeared to broadly correlate with the BTC price over the past few years, it also reflects when speculators or investors choose to enter the market, and the price which they paid.

Institutional investors aren’t exactly piling in at current prices; $326.3 flowed out of Bitcoin ETFs yesterday, and flows have been negative for seven out of the past eight days, as per data from Farside Investors.

Investors have had it worse before

Though a big chunk of BTC investors are now in the red compared to just a few months ago, they are still faring comparatively well relative to some of the crypto world’s darkest hours.

In November 2022, around the time of the collapse of crypto exchange FTX , more than 56% of BTC investors were in the red.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.

After nearly being brought to its knees by a $235 million hack, WazirX just secured a vital shot at survival.

More than 93% of creditors have voted in favor of the Indian crypto exchange’s restructuring plan—clearing a key hurdle in efforts to recover from the devastating exploit, attributed to North Korean hackers.

The plan, now headed for court sanction in Singapore, promises partial repayments, new protections, and a phased return to operations.

In a statement shared with Decrypt on April 7, Zettai Pte. Ltd., the Singapore-based holding company behind WazirX, revealed that 131,659 creditors voted to support the proposed Scheme of Arrangement.

That accounts for 93.1% by headcount and 94.6% by claim value among the 141,476 eligible voters.

“We are grateful for the strong vote of confidence,” said WazirX founder Nischal Shetty. “This consistent support across our entire base demonstrates shared belief in our restructuring approach and recovery plan.”

With assets frozen and trust fractured since the July attack, Zettai warned in early 2025 that without creditor approval, withdrawals could be delayed until 2030.

The newly approved plan sidesteps that cliff as users will now receive between 75% to 80% of their claims in USDT, while the rest will be covered by “recovery tokens” tied to WazirX’s profits and the launch of a new decentralized exchange (DEX).

To ensure full transparency, the vote results were verified by Joshua Taylor and Henry A. Chambers, Managing Directors at global consultancy firm Alvarez & Marsal, who served as independent assessors.

The formal vote report will be shared with all creditors, alongside anonymized results, as per the company statement.

The $235 million WazirX hack

The vote brings a degree of resolution to a crisis that began in July 2024, when hackers, later linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, compromised WazirX’s multi-signature wallets and made off with assets spanning over 200 tokens.

The stolen crypto included Ethereum (ETH), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Polygon (POL, at the time MATIC), some of which was traced through formerly-sanctioned coin mixer Tornado Cash as part of a laundering effort involving 15,000 ETH.

The hack triggered a temporary halt to withdrawals and a criminal investigation by Delhi Police’s IFSO division, which arrested a man in West Bengal in November for allegedly opening a fraudulent WazirX account that enabled unauthorized access.

In February, CoinDCX CEO Sumit Gupta tweeted that WazirX’s lack of transparency around the breach had potentially endangered others.

“If WazirX and Phemex had disclosed all of their security breach details openly and transparently as Bybit did, the Safe{wallet} infra vulnerability could have been caught,” Gupta wrote, adding that, “The best way to protect the ecosystem is to learn openly.”

WazirX, meanwhile, has since shifted its crypto custody to BitGo and Zodia, introduced insurance coverage, and earmarked $12 million for legal costs and recovery.

Bitcoin has plunged to its lowest levels—nearly erasing all its post-election gains—as escalating trade tensions fuel global market panic.

The Bitcoin price fell as low as $74,500 during early Asia hours Monday, marking a 6.5% fall in the past 24 hours and more than 5.8% over the week, CoinGecko data shows.

As of now, Bitcoin has clawed back slightly to hover near $77,179, but analysts warn that deeper losses may lie ahead.

The downturn follows a turbulent weekend triggered by President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariff announcement, which will take effect on April 9.

Trump declared a 10% baseline tariff on all imports, with higher rates for certain countries, including a 34% tariff on Chinese goods and a 20% tariff on products from the European Union.

China retaliated with 34% tariffs on all U.S. exports, setting off the worst single-day crash in China’s stock market since 2008.

“Markets are reeling as the global trade war intensifies,” crypto trading firm QCP Capital wrote in a note on Monday. “While U.S. equities were already under heavy pressure last week, BTC largely weathered the storm over the weekend. However, that resilience proved short-lived.”

“But with just two days to go until the April 9 implementation of higher tariffs, the global economy teeters on the edge of a full-scale economic war,” QCP said.

The fallout has been brutal across risk assets. Over $1.41 million in crypto positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours, with BTC and ETH bearing the brunt, as per Coinglass data.

“At first glance, it may seem that the cryptocurrency is starting to separate from the general trend,” Tracy Jin, COO of crypto exchange MEXC, told Decrypt. “On the night of April 3–4, Bitcoin looked more stable than the S&P 500 and commodity assets and this gave reason to talk about crypto as an alternative defensive asset, especially in the context of increasing geopolitical and trade risks.”

Jin cautioned against misreading Bitcoin’s early stability, noting that the crypto market had “simply outpaced the stock market,” with most selling happening “from January to March,” well before equities began to slide.

The expert added how Bitcoin now appears to be acting as “a leading indicator” of macroeconomic stress.

“Its price has already reflected the negative consequences of trade conflicts, particularly the U.S. tariff rhetoric towards China,” Jin said.

Meanwhile, Altan Tutar, CEO and co-founder of global Bitcoin layer MoreMarkets, says Bitcoin’s identity as an asset is being reshaped in real time.

“Bitcoin is at a crossroads,” he told Decrypt. “With market volatility rising and tariffs back on the table, 2025 will be a real test: Does Bitcoin behave more like a tech stock or a safe-haven asset like gold? So far, we’re seeing elements of both.”

Tutar added that although the crypto operates in a digital layer, less directly exposed to tariffs, cost pressures are still mounting.

“Rising hardware costs could make mining and validating more expensive,” he said. “Over time, Bitcoin may evolve into a new kind of macro asset, shaped by both financial markets and geopolitical stress.”

From a technical perspective, Jin warned that BTC is at “critical levels.”

“Resistance above $80,000 could be an important signal for institutional investors,” she said. “A breakout of $71,000 downwards could trigger a chain of liquidations with a target in the $65,000 area.”

As the market waits for clarity from policymakers, Jin warned that a worsening political climate could also spill into regulation.

“Increased oversight, especially in the G7 countries, and measures to combat sanctions evasion could limit institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies,” she said.

Still, Jin believes Bitcoin’s resilience could be persuasive, suggesting “if BTC continues to hold amid high turbulence,” it may shift perceptions “even among more conservative financial players.”

Edited by Stacy Elliott.