---
title: "Short-Term Holder SOPR: Formula, Meaning"
description: "SOPR restricted to spent outputs that were held for less than 155 days, the age cutoff commonly used by data providers for short-term holders. It shows..."
canonical: https://www.getswoopr.com/indicators/crypto/short-term-holder-sopr/
source: "Swoopr Investment: https://www.getswoopr.com"
---

## Direct Answer



> SOPR restricted to spent outputs that were held for less than 155 days, the age cutoff commonly used by data providers for short-term holders. It shows whether recent buyers are spending coins at a profit or loss. Values above 1 mean recent buyers are selling at a profit, and values below 1 mean they are selling at a loss.





      


# Short-Term Holder SOPR: Formula, Meaning, Signals, Examples and How to Use It



## How Is Short-Term Holder SOPR Calculated?

SOPR restricted to spent outputs that were held for less than 155 days, the age cutoff commonly used by data providers for short-term holders. It shows whether recent buyers are spending coins at a profit or loss.

**Formula:** `STH-SOPR = sum(value at spend-date price) / sum(value at creation-date price), for outputs aged under 155 days`

**Inputs:**

- Spent outputs with age under 155 days
- Price at creation time
- Price at spend time

**Worked example.** If recently held outputs were worth 1050 when spent against 1000 when created (illustrative USD millions), the ratio is 1.05. The inputs are illustrative numbers, not market data.

**Reading it.** Values above 1 mean recent buyers are selling at a profit, and values below 1 mean they are selling at a loss. In corrections the 1.0 line is often watched as a level where short-term holders move between realizing profit and loss.

**Limits.** It captures only coins that move, and short-held coins move often, so it reflects activity as much as sentiment. Transfers between a holder's own wallets are counted as spending.


      

## What is Short-Term Holder SOPR?



SOPR restricted to spent outputs that were held for less than 155 days, the age cutoff commonly used by data providers for short-term holders. It shows whether recent buyers are spending coins at a profit or loss.




## How to use Short-Term Holder SOPR



Values above 1 mean recent buyers are selling at a profit, and values below 1 mean they are selling at a loss. In corrections the 1.0 line is often watched as a level where short-term holders move between realizing profit and loss. A reading alone is never a buy or sell signal; it needs context from price structure, volume, volatility and the broader market regime.




## Strengths



- Limiting the ratio to coins under 155 days old focuses on recent buyers' spend price against their cost.
- A break-even level of 1.0 lets the reading be stated as spending above or below the creation-date price.
- Reproducible when the formula and data convention are fixed.




## Weaknesses and limitations



- Recent coins have creation prices close to the current price, so the ratio sits near 1.0 in calm markets and reacts mostly to price swings.
- Value weighting lets one large short-age output carry the reading, since the ratio sums amounts times prices.
- Correlated indicators can create false confidence by repeating the same underlying information.




## Editorial and risk note



This page is educational content, not individualized investment advice. It should not imply guaranteed prediction, accuracy or outperformance.







## Frequently Asked Questions


        



Is Short-Term Holder SOPR a buy or sell signal?




No. Values above 1 mean recent buyers are selling at a profit, and values below 1 mean they are selling at a loss. It captures only coins that move, and short-held coins move often, so it reflects activity as much as sentiment. A trade built on it still needs a trigger, an invalidation rule, a position size and realistic execution assumptions.










What is the best setting for Short-Term Holder SOPR?




Short-Term Holder SOPR takes these inputs: spent outputs with age under 155 days; price at creation time; price at spend time. There is no universal best setting for the tunable ones, so test them across instruments, regimes and out-of-sample periods and favor stable parameter regions over one historical winner.










Can Short-Term Holder SOPR be used by itself?




It captures only coins that move, and short-held coins move often, so it reflects activity as much as sentiment. Transfers between a holder's own wallets are counted as spending. For that reason it is read next to measures of direction, participation, valuation, liquidity and risk, not alone.










Does Short-Term Holder SOPR work on every timeframe?




The calculation (STH-SOPR = sum(value at spend-date price) / sum(value at creation-date price), for outputs aged under 155 days) can be run on any bar size, but behavior is not portable: a reading on a five-minute chart describes a very different market window from the same reading on a daily chart. Validate the exact timeframe before relying on it.










Why does Short-Term Holder SOPR give false signals?




Recent coins have creation prices close to the current price, so the ratio sits near 1.0 in calm markets and reacts mostly to price swings. Value weighting lets one large short-age output carry the reading, since the ratio sums amounts times prices. Lag, noise and regime changes add to this, because market participants react to new information after the reading is calculated.










How should Short-Term Holder SOPR be backtested?




Rebuild Short-Term Holder SOPR from spent outputs with age under 155 days using point-in-time data, write the rules before testing, include delisted securities where relevant, model realistic fills and costs, reserve a validation sample and compare with a simpler baseline.












S




Swoopr Editorial Team



The Swoopr Editorial Team produces independent investment education, research, and tools for understanding markets, evaluating opportunities, and managing risk. All content is educational only and does not constitute personalized investment advice.



See our [editorial policy](https://www.getswoopr.com/legal/editorial-policy/) and [corrections policy](https://www.getswoopr.com/legal/corrections-policy/).
