Bitcoin BTC +0.023% 's price has increased by more than 21% since the beginning of the year. However, analysts have observed that the present bitcoin short-squeeze ratio is lower than previous years.

At the beginning of January, bitcoin's price hovered around the $42,000 mark, but in February, it exceeded $52,000 for the first time in 27 months. This rapid surge in price would usually trigger a significant short-squeeze. However, this week's Bitfinex Alpha report said, "the magnitude of the short-squeeze observed so far this year has been small compared to the previous year."

"Large whale investors have not been taking substantial short positions, given their expectation that prices will continue to rise," Bitfinex analysts added.

Bitcoin short-squeeze ratio is lower than in recent years. Image: Bitfinex/ CryptoQuant.

Metrics signaling bitcoin bull market conditions

The Bitfinex Alpha report defined current market conditions as consisting of tightening supply and increasing demand.

The report illustrated how the current bitcoin-holder dynamics that could indicate early bull-market conditions. Citing Glassnode data, the analysts said that the total volume of bitcoin long-term holder supply in loss converges towards zero as the digital asset's price increases. "Currently, less than 6% of the aggregate long-term holder supply by individual entities are held at a loss. Historically, similar instances where the long-term holder cohort held a comparable volume of bitcoin in loss have been indicative of early bull market conditions," the Bitfinex Alpha report added.

The largest digital asset by market capitalization was changing hands for $52,219 at 8:04 a.m. ET, according to The Block's Price Page. The GM 30 Index, representing a selection of the top 30 cryptocurrencies, slipped 0.09% to 114.14 in the past 24 hours.

The price of bitcoin has held above the $52,000 mark. Image: The Block.