Realized Cap

What it measures

The USD value of Bitcoin's circulating supply if every coin were priced at whatever it was worth the last time it moved on-chain, summed across all coins - market cap's aggregate-cost-basis counterpart.

Formula

Realized Cap = Market Cap / MVRV (derived at read time; MVRV is itself Market Cap / Realized Cap, so this is the same relationship read the other way).

Normal range

Trends upward over long periods as coins move at ever-higher prices; read via its own historical percentile rather than a fixed level.

How it fails

Coins that haven't moved in years (lost keys, long-term cold storage) still anchor to whatever price they last transacted at, however old - realized cap can understate the market's true current cost basis for supply that's economically dead, not just held with conviction.

Related metrics

MVRV, Puell Multiple

Bull read

A realized cap that keeps climbing even through drawdowns suggests coins are still transacting at higher cost bases than before, not just idle supply repricing on paper.

Bear read

A flat or falling realized cap during a rally can mean the move is happening on thin realized turnover - existing holders repricing the same coins rather than fresh capital moving in.