Bitcoin Rally Faces Fresh Test As Demand Metric Hits 2026 Low

TL;DR

Bitcoin's demand metric has dropped to its lowest level since early 2026, with an apparent demand nearing -147,000 BTC. Analyst Darkfost highlights this as the most bearish reading of the year.

Key points

Bitcoin's apparent demand metric is at -147,000 BTC
This is the lowest level since early 2026
Darkfost is a CryptoQuant analyst
The reading indicates bearish market sentiment
Previous low was in December 2025

Bitcoin’s demand backdrop has weakened sharply, according to CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost, who said an on-chain gauge of apparent demand has fallen to its most bearish reading of the year.

Darkfost, posting on X under the handle @Darkfost_Coc, shared a CryptoQuant chart showing Bitcoin Apparent Demand on a 30-day sum basis falling deep into negative territory. The analyst said the metric is now approaching minus 147,000 BTC, marking its weakest level since the beginning of 2026.

“Bitcoin’s Apparent Demand has just reached its most negative level since the beginning of the year,” Darkfost wrote. “With an estimate now approaching -147,000 BTC, we have to go back to December 2025 to find market sentiment this bearish.”

Bitcoin Apparent Demand | Source: X @Darkfost_Coc

Apparent Demand Turns Deeply Negative

The chart tracks Bitcoin’s apparent demand alongside price, showing a transition from strongly positive readings through parts of mid-2025 to prolonged negative demand in late 2025 and again in 2026. The latest drop is notable because it comes after Bitcoin’s price recovered from its early-2026 lows, suggesting that the rebound has not been matched by a clear improvement in structural spot demand.

Darkfost described Apparent Demand as “the difference between new BTC issuance and the amount of supply that has remained inactive for more than one year.” In practical terms, the metric is intended to assess whether accumulation from longer-term holders is strong enough to absorb newly issued Bitcoin.

“In other words, this metric helps estimate whether structural accumulation is strong enough to absorb the new supply created by the network,” the analyst wrote.

That interpretation frames the current reading as more than a short-term sentiment gauge. If apparent demand is deeply negative, it suggests that the market is not showing enough underlying absorption to offset issuance and support a more stable bullish phase.