CryptoQuant Analyst Darkfost Says Bitcoin Apparent Demand Has Stayed Negative for Most of 2026

Bitcoin’s apparent demand has remained mostly in negative territory this year, indicating weak market demand and contributing to continued pressure on Bitcoin’s price trend, CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost said. According to Odaily, data show Bitcoin’s apparent demand fell to a year-to-date low of about -275,000 BTC on June 3 and has since recovered to around -75,000 BTC. Darkfost said the improvement is worth monitoring, but a meaningful demand recovery would require the indicator to return to positive territory on a sustained basis. He explained that the apparent demand metric is calculated as the difference between newly issued BTC and the supply of BTC that has not moved for more than one year. The indicator is used to assess whether structural accumulation by long-term holders is sufficient to absorb new network supply. Darkfost added that while long-term demand has shown some recovery, it has not yet reached a level that would be enough to drive the market into a new upward trend.