Amr Taha2026-05-24

Bitcoin Sees $65B STH Market Cap Drop After Korean Exchanges Record -$11.12B Negative Volume While Binance Prints +$1.1B

Bitcoin’s latest data shows a clear divergence between Korean spot exchanges and Binance, followed by a sharp decline in Short-Term Holder Market Cap. On May 19, Upbit recorded its largest negative Bitcoin spot trading volume reading in the chart’s history at -$9.3 billion. On the same day, Bithumb Korea also posted a negative reading of around -$1.8 billion, bringing the combined negative volume from the two Korean exchanges to approximately -$11.12 billion. By comparison, Binance recorded a normal positive reading of around +$1.1 billion on the same day. This difference suggests that the strongest volume imbalance appeared on Korean exchanges, while Binance did not show the same type of move. A few days later, Bitcoin’s Short-Term Holder Market Cap declined sharply. Between May 21 and May 24, the metric dropped from $388 billion to $323 billion, erasing around $65 billion in just 3 days. This pushed the indicator back to levels last seen around June 29, 2024. The decline is important because a sharp fall in Short-Term Holder Market Cap is often associated with panic selling among newer Bitcoin holders. In other words, the Korean exchange data showed an unusual spot-volume imbalance first, then the Short-Term Holder Market Cap reflected a fast reduction in capital held by newer market participants. According to the chart’s calculation method, Bitcoin spot volume turns positive when the trading volume of BTC/USDT is higher than USDT/BTC. It turns negative when the opposite happens. Based on this method, the May 19 readings on Upbit and Bithumb Korea show that reverse-side volume dominated on those exchanges during that session. The key takeaway is that Bitcoin saw two notable signals in close succession: a record negative spot volume reading on Upbit, followed by a $65 billion decline in Short-Term Holder Market Cap.