Class 2017 Bull Cohort
UTXOs born in 2017 — the first historic bull-market cohort, tracked across two dimensions: supply held (BTC, left axis) and realized cap (USD cost basis, right axis). Reveals the multi-cycle journey of holders who entered during a parabolic run. Cumulative realized P&L derivable from realized_cap dynamics.
What is it?
This metric isolates the cohort of UTXOs created in 2017 — the year of the first major historic bull market — and tracks it via three dimensions: supply still held (BTC), realized cap (USD acquired), and cumulative net realized P&L (algebraic sum of profits and losses over successive partial spends). Cumulative P&L is unique to this cohort because it has experienced two complete cycles and a potential decade of partial movements — it reveals this generation's aggregate financial experience.
How to read
Three curves: (1) Absolute BTC supply (left axis, decline = distribution), (2) Realized Cap USD (secondary right axis), (3) Cumulative Realized P&L USD. Cumulative P&L is negative at the start (early post-2017 spends were often at a loss versus their acquisition at the 20K peak), then rises with subsequent profitable spends (post-2020). A positive asymptote of cumulative P&L indicates the cohort has overall realised a net profit over its full spend history.
Key zones
Negative cumulative P&L → the cohort has overall realised losses (sellers at the 2018-2019 lows). Positive cumulative P&L → holders who waited for later peaks compensated for early capitulations. A class 2017 supply stable post-2021 indicates 2018-2019 bear-market survivors have transformed into convinced hodlers. An acceleration of supply decrease at later peaks marks profit-taking by this cohort.
What to observe
Track Supply and cumulative P&L together. If supply decreases rapidly with cumulative P&L sharply rising, the cohort is capitulating in profit (typical end of bull market). If supply decreases with cumulative P&L declining, the cohort is capitulating in loss (typical of a bear market). Stable supply + cumulative P&L converging to an asymptote = mature cohort, deep hibernation.
Historical context
Class 2017 was born during Bitcoin's first major historic bull market (parabolic ascent through 2017 to the December 2017 peak). Many of these UTXOs were created at very high prices — hence a structurally higher average cost basis than the 2016 cohort. The 2018-2019 bear-market low forced part of this cohort to capitulate at a loss. Survivors traversed the 2020-2021 cycle then the following cycle.
Expert notes
The class_2017_* cohort is a deterministic full-node-indexed aggregate from the Bitcoin blockchain. The net_realized_pnl_cumulative series is derived from profits/losses realised on each partial spend — it requires the full history since 2017 to be interpreted correctly. The B11 SOP §1.2 exception applies. Trinity audit tolerance 1.5%.
Common mistakes to avoid
Cumulative P&L is not a mark-to-market P&L — it is only the algebraic sum of profits/losses realised on spends. A cohort with a large intact supply can have a very small cumulative P&L (few spends so far). Conversely, a cohort with little remaining supply but huge cumulative P&L indicates strong rotation. Do not confuse this P&L with the unrealized potential profit of the remaining supply.
Programmatic access
REST API
curl -sS \
'https://api.trinityinsights.io/api/v1/onchain/class-2017-bull-cohort/history?days=90' \
-H 'X-API-Key: $TRINITY_API_KEY'MCP server
{
"tool": "get_chart_value",
"metric_id": "class-2017-bull-cohort",
"timeframe": "1y"
}Required tier: pro. See the pricing grid for the tier list and the MCP documentation for multi-client configuration.
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Institutional disclaimer
Trinity Insights is an educational and analytical tool. The metric above does not constitute investment advice. Trinity Insights is not a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) registered under MiCA Regulation (EU) 2023/1114. See the full disclaimer.