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Cost Basis Distribution Snapshot

Bitcoin supply by cost basis on one date

PropertyValue
CategorySupply Analysis
UnitBTC
Resolution1d
AssetsBTC
TierBasic
API EndpointGET /v1/cbd/snapshot
Fieldsupply

Overview​

Cost Basis Distribution Snapshot is a vertical slice of the Cost Basis Distribution heatmap for one date. It shows how the Bitcoin supply that was unspent on that date is spread across price levels. The price level of a coin is its cost basis — the BTC price on the day the coin last moved on-chain.

The heatmap uses a fixed grid of 100 bins per period. The snapshot is computed exactly from the UTXO set of the requested date, with the number of bins, the scale (logarithmic or linear) and the price range chosen by the user. It also returns cumulative supply below and above every bin, the supply in profit, in loss and at breakeven, and the largest supply levels.

Formula​

For every age cohort cc unspent on date DD, with ScS_c BTC and value VcV_c in USD at the price of the day it was created, the cost basis and the supply in bin ii with edges eie_i … ei+1e_{i+1} are:

CBc=VcSc\text{CB}_c = \frac{V_c}{S_c} Supplyi=∑c : ei≤CBc<ei+1Sc\text{Supply}_i = \sum_{c \,:\, e_i \le \text{CB}_c \lt e_{i+1}} S_c ei=Pmin⁡⋅(Pmax⁡Pmin⁡)i/N,i=0,1,…,Ne_i = P_{\min} \cdot \left(\frac{P_{\max}}{P_{\min}}\right)^{i/N}, \quad i = 0, 1, \ldots, N

Logarithmic bins use geometric edges between Pmin⁡P_{\min} and Pmax⁡P_{\max} (the lowest and highest cost basis, always including the price of date DD); linear bins have equal width from 0. Supply in profit is the sum of ScS_c with cost basis below the price of date DD, supply in loss — above it. Coins created before the price history starts (2009–2010) have no cost basis: they are shown separately as unpriced and counted as in profit.

Interpretation​

  • Large supply below the price — many holders are in profit; these levels mark accumulation zones and often act as support.
  • Large supply above the price — holders in loss; such levels often act as resistance as holders sell at breakeven.
  • Thin areas — few coins last moved there, so the price can pass through these levels quickly.
  • Share in profit close to 100% is typical of euphoric market tops; a share below 50% is typical of capitulation phases.

Use Cases​

  • Locating on-chain support and resistance levels on any date.
  • Measuring the exact supply in profit and in loss at the price of a chosen date.
  • Comparing the distribution before and after major market events.
  • Finding the largest cost basis clusters (top levels) for research and reports.

Data are updated once a day.

API Usage​

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  "https://api.blocklens.co/v1/cbd/snapshot?start_date=2024-01-01&end_date=2024-12-31&limit=365"