Fresh capital is drying up in the Bitcoin market as new investor inflows turn negative, raising the risk that the latest slide marks the early stages of a bear market, according to CryptoQuant.
The analytics firm said Bitcoin sell-offs are no longer being absorbed by fresh demand, with on-chain data showing weakness now triggers withdrawals rather than attracting new buyers.
“New investor inflows have flipped negative, the sell-off is not being absorbed by fresh capital,”
CryptoQuant said, warning that this pattern typically emerges in early bear markets rather than healthy bull-market corrections.
Bitcoin has fallen about 23% over the past 80-plus days after breaking below its 365-day moving average, while risk-adjusted returns measured by Sharpe ratios have slipped into ranges historically linked to late bull unwinds or entrenched bear phases.
At the same time, spot and institutional demand remain subdued, reinforcing concerns that drawdowns could persist without renewed inflows to stabilise prices.
The weakness has spread across major assets, with Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana all trading lower as macro risk appetite fades.
CryptoQuant said the key risk now is that negative inflows harden into sustained outflows, turning the current downturn into a prolonged bear market rather than a temporary pullback.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $68,706.69.