Cost Basis Distribution per Cohort
Distribution of cost basis stratified across age cohorts (UTXO age bands), revealing which segment holds at which price level.
What is it?
This chart decomposes the cost basis distribution into multiple UTXO age cohorts (very young coins recently moved to extremely old dormant coins). Each age cohort is a band in the stacked-area, stacked per price level. The sum per bucket equals total realized value; the composition per band shows the age distribution of coins at that level. It's the fine extension of URPD STH/LTH with maximal age granularity.
How to read
Horizontal axis = USD price buckets (log). Vertical axis = compact USD realized value. Spectral palette by age (young = red-orange, old = deep blue, similar to UTXO age conventions). The band proportion per bucket reveals who holds: a bucket dominated by old bands (blue) = strong historical anchoring. A bucket dominated by young bands (red) = recent acquisition. The Trinity rendering stacks two panels: BTC price on top (log scale + date marker), stacked histogram on bottom with cohort-colored bars (dedicated blue/orange palette for LTH/STH or spectral age palette depending on mode), `% cumulative` line on the inner right axis, vertical spot marker on the X axis, and an on-canvas statistics panel.
Key zones
Low buckets dominated by old bands = primitive supply from past cycles, structural historical supports. High buckets dominated by young bands = recent accumulation at high prices, potentially fragile. Mixed buckets (all bands) = pivot levels where several holder generations coexist.
What to observe
Patterns: (1) Progressive migration of young bands to old bands on the same bucket = HODL maturation (supply aging without moving). (2) Appearance of a new young band on a previously pure-LTH bucket = new historical seller breaking their HODL. (3) Disappearance of an old band on a bucket = liquidation of historical holders. To explore this chart in institutional mode : the default **Minimal** mode maximises data legibility (compact stats + period presets 1D/7D/1M/3M/6M/1Y/Now + precise date picker). The **⚙️ Expert** button reveals advanced tools : **🎯 Highlight profit** toggle (dims loss BTC to emphasise the support profit zone), **🔍 Hide outliers** toggle (hides the top 1% extreme spikes to zoom on the main distribution), and the clickable historical events bar with badges (▲ cycle tops, ▼ bottoms, ⚡ macro shocks). The **📊 Compare** button opens a second date picker and renders a delta summary card between the 2 snapshots (supply change, profit zone, top accumulation and top distribution per price bucket). The **📥 Export** button offers PNG (all tiers, with trinityinsights.io watermark + logo + copyright) and CSV (Performance+ only, with traceability metadata : slug, date, spot, mode, locale, generation timestamp). Keyboard shortcuts : A/D navigate dates, W/S toggle BTC↔USD, 1-7 select presets, R returns to latest snapshot, ? opens full help. The X axis carries the **acquisition price (USD)** and the inner right line shows the **% BTC cumulative** (cumulative share of BTC below each price level). The URL retains full state for sharing (`?date=YYYY-MM-DD&w=BTC|USD&expert=1&compare=YYYY-MM-DD`).
Historical context
Over the long history, some old bands remain nearly unchanged for decades at very low prices (primitive coins never moved). Each cycle adds a layer of younger bands at higher prices. Age stratification therefore provides a complete on-chain geology of Bitcoin history.
Expert notes
This view is the finest available decomposition of the cost basis distribution. For institutional analysts, it precisely identifies the origin of each realized-value cluster: old HODL, recent accumulation, or active rotation. Cross-read with hodl-waves for the complementary temporal dimension.
Common mistakes to avoid
The oldest bands partially contain lost coins (lost keys, permanently dormant wallets). Their immobility is not an active market force but a liquidity absence. The real defense comes from middle bands (1y-5y) that represent convicted but active holders.
Programmatic access
REST API
curl -sS \
'https://api.trinityinsights.io/api/v1/onchain/cost-basis-distribution-cohort/history?days=90' \
-H 'X-API-Key: $TRINITY_API_KEY'MCP server
{
"tool": "get_chart_value",
"metric_id": "cost-basis-distribution-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.