Revived Year Cost Value
Snapshot realized cap per representative vintage cohort (Silk Road era / ICO peak / post-ETF) - tracks the live cost basis held by each generation.
What is it?
Revived Year Cost Value is a deep-dive multi-line on the live cost basis held by each representative vintage cohort. Trinity displays 3 key vintages: 2009 (OG Patoshi era), 2017 (ICO peak generation), and 2024 (post-ETF era). Each line measures this cohort's 'realized cap snapshot': the USD sum of cost basis for UTXOs still held by this generation at date. A live metric, evolving as cohort coins are spent (outgoing cost basis) or re-acquired.
How to read
Multi-line USD log scale with optional BTC price overlay. Each line represents a vintage. A descending line marks the cohort is actively distributing (outgoing cost basis). A stable line marks conservation. An ascending line marks re-accumulation by this cohort (rare - typically only the current cohort via mining + new acquisitions).
Key zones
The 2009 vintage typically has a very low cost basis snapshot (~$0 for Patoshi). The 2017 vintage has a cost basis structurally aligned with bull cycle 2 prices (between bottoms and tops of that era). The 2024 vintage reflects ETF era acquisitions (post-launch) with significantly higher prices. Divergences between vintages reveal cohort rotation phases.
What to observe
Watch phases where one cohort distributes rapidly (sharp line drop) while others are stable: indication of capitulation or generational redistribution. Cross-reference with #322 Revived Year Realized PnL to distinguish profitable distributions (2009/2017 vintage in bull) from loss distributions (2017/2021 vintage in bear). The 2024 vintage (post-ETF) introduces unusual dynamics: its line grows durably in bull market via incoming ETF flows.
Historical context
The 2009 vintage (Patoshi) is the most historically stable line: most coins have never moved. The 2017 vintage saw heavy distributions in 2018 (post-bull) and 2021 (next top). The 2024 vintage starts from spot ETF arrival and is in structural growth. Note: Trinity uses a 7→3 representative vintages downscope (R5_year_cohort architecture deviation) to stay compatible with the val/val2/val3 schema and preserve multi-line readability.
Expert notes
Critical technical note: Trinity uses the class_YYYY_realized_cap (snapshot) series rather than the cumulative variant (which returns 404 on the public API for this subset). This choice changes semantics: a realized_cap snapshot may DECREASE when coins leave the cohort (documented Option A substitution). Conversely, a true 'cumulative invested cost' would be monotonic increasing. For full-cycle reading, the snapshot is most informative: it shows the live cost basis held, not the cumulative history.
Common mistakes to avoid
Common mistake: confusing snapshot Cost Value with Cumulative Invested. The snapshot may drop while a cohort distributes, whereas cumulative would be monotonic increasing. This difference matters for interpreting phases: a descending snapshot = active distribution, not an error. Also: do not extrapolate 2009/2017 trends to the 2024 vintage - these cohorts have radically different economic contexts (early adopters vs ETF investors).
Programmatic access
REST API
curl -sS \
'https://api.trinityinsights.io/api/v1/onchain/revived-year-costvalue/history?days=90' \
-H 'X-API-Key: $TRINITY_API_KEY'MCP server
{
"tool": "get_chart_value",
"metric_id": "revived-year-costvalue",
"timeframe": "1y"
}Required tier: performance. See the pricing grid for the tier list and the MCP documentation for multi-client configuration.
Related metrics
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.