Bitcoin’s “air pocket” is once again in focus as the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization rose Wednesday to just under $72,000.
The air pocket refers to a thin supply zone between $72,000 and $80,000, where relatively few coins last changed hands, according to Glassnode data.
Only about 1% of the circulating bitcoin supply falls within this range. Since very few holders have established positions there, the market may encounter limited resistance if prices begin to cross the zone. Concretely, this means that if Bitcoin decisively exceeds $72,000, the move towards $80,000 could occur relatively quickly.
Historically, bitcoin has spent very little time trading in a zone between $72,000 and $80,000. An example occurred in November 2024, when prices rose rapidly following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, quickly breaking through the range without forming significant trading volume.
A second example occurred earlier this year, when bitcoin fell from around $80,000 to $70,000 in late January, before sliding further to around $60,000 on February 6, a decline that took place over just a few days.
Supply dynamics are visible using Glassnode’s Realized Price Distribution (URPD) metric. The URPD shows the price levels at which the current set of unspent transactions last moved, thus mapping where existing bitcoin holders acquired their coins.
CoinDesk Research notes that during bitcoin’s recent consolidation between $60,000 and $70,000, over 400,000 BTC was accumulated, showing strong support below current levels.
