Bitcoin is quietly undergoing a valuation reset, not because on-chain activity suddenly fell off, but because markets appear to have stopped pricing the network in line with that activity. After a period of forced deleveraging and risk aversion that pushed Bitcoin’s valuation to unusually depressed levels, a key on-chain metric called the NVT Golden Cross has begun climbing, suggesting price is gradually realigning with transaction-driven fundamentals.
As of today, Bitcoin is trading in the high-$80,000s, a range that has left traders debating whether the worst of the compression is over or if the market is merely pausing before another leg of volatility. CoinMarketCap’s live feed shows BTC around $87,700.
The NVT (Network Value to Transactions) ratio is often described as Bitcoin’s price-to-earnings analogue: market cap on one side, transaction volume standing in for earnings on the other. The NVT Golden Cross refines that idea by comparing short-term and long-term behavior of the ratio.
When the short-term NVT falls well below the long-term trend, it indicates the market cap has lagged transaction activity, a sort of “discount” on the network’s utility. CryptoQuant and Glassnode maintain accessible versions of these metrics, and traders have increasingly leaned on them to judge when the price is decoupled from real economic use.
What makes the current episode striking is how deep that negative deviation got: the smoothed NVT Golden Cross hit a historically depressed trough near -0.58, a level that isn’t just about short-term bearishness but signals structural undervaluation. Those extreme readings typically show up during periods when leveraged positions are forced out and selling compresses price faster than network activity declines.
In other words, utility stayed more robust than the headline price suggested, a classic setup for a valuation reset once selling abates. The -0.58 figure and the subsequent move toward about -0.32 come from the on-chain smoothing method described above, which uses a 100-day moving average to reduce noise.
The Important Move Now is the Climb
The indicator has risen from roughly -0.58 to about -0.32. That doesn’t mean Bitcoin is suddenly expensive; the NVT remains negative, which in plain terms means the asset is still priced conservatively relative to how much economic activity the network is processing. But the direction matters.
Historically, a move from deeply negative territory back toward equilibrium has coincided with phases of accumulation and steadier price discovery, where buyers become more selective and shorts are squeezed out rather than simply triggering panic selling. CryptoQuant’s historical notes on NVT Golden Cross behavior and recent commentary on local tops and bottoms make this pattern familiar to on-chain analysts watching 2025’s market cycles.
That structural narrative is playing out against a backdrop of fresh institutional flows and macro noise. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded meaningful inflows this week, roughly $457 million on Wednesday alone, the largest daily intake since mid-November, a reminder that capital is still chasing Bitcoin exposure even as traders wrestle with macro crosswinds. These flows have tended to concentrate liquidity and arguably make price moves more efficient than before the ETF era, though some researchers warn that classic on-chain measures like NVT may need adjustments to capture off-chain ETF activity.
Macro headlines are complicating the picture. Global monetary moves, such as the Bank of Japan’s recent surprise rate shift, and U.S. inflation data have nudged risk appetites in both directions this week, producing intraday swings while leaving the broader range intact. Analysts note that Bitcoin has been range-bound near current levels, with rallies repeatedly meeting resistance and pullbacks finding buyers, the kind of market that favors measured accumulation rather than frantic FOMO.
Technically, traders point to support in the mid-$80k region and see $94k–$100k as a psychological path toward the next leg higher if on-chain realignment continues and macro conditions ease. But the market’s immediate behavior will hinge on two factors: whether ETF inflows persist and whether macro data reduces the odds of near-term rate surprises that can sap risk appetite. In short, the NVT move signals a healthier price-to-utility relationship, but it does not remove macro or liquidity risks.
For investors and analysts, the takeaway is pragmatic. A negative but rising NVT Golden Cross is not a call for exuberance; it’s a signal that the market is exiting a phase of structural undervaluation and moving toward equilibrium. Historically, those stretches have been the most constructive windows for disciplined accumulation, the moments when long-term holders can build positions with lower tail risk because the disconnect between usage and valuation is closing. If ETFs keep funneling capital and on-chain activity remains steady, the valuation reset that began in negative territory could continue to lift price into a materially healthier regime.
That being said, on-chain metrics are tools, not prophecies. As some firms have cautioned, measures like NVT can be distorted in an era where much trading and settlement happen off-chain or through institutional wrappers. The smartest market participants will use the NVT Golden Cross alongside flows, liquidity, and macro indicators, not in isolation, to judge whether this valuation reset matures into a sustainable rally or simply marks a temporary rebalancing in a choppy market.
Bitcoin’s story today is less about a single price print and more about who’s willing to pay for the network’s real-world activity again. The NVT Golden Cross suggests that investors are starting to reckon with that question, moving prices toward where transaction-driven fundamentals can justify them. Whether that remapping continues depends on capital flows and macro stability, but for anyone watching on-chain signals, the “discount” window looks to be closing, and that is the market development everyone from traders to long-term allocators should be watching.
