Glassnode: Bitcoin Short-Term Holders Begin Taking Profits, But Upside Potential Remains

BlockBeats News, May 16th, Glassnode published a post stating that Bitcoin's short-term holders have started profit-taking. The Short-Term Holder Realized Profit has surged to about 3 standard deviations above its 90-day average, reflecting a significant increase in profit-taking activity. However, in past cycles, especially during price rallies to an All-Time High (ATH), this metric often rises to over 5 standard deviations. This indicates that a stronger profit-taking pressure is usually required to overwhelm the continuous influx of buying demand.

Bitcoin's rise to near its ATH has been primarily driven by the spot market, benefiting from strong on-chain accumulation and off-chain inflows. Demand mainly comes from spot ETFs and major spot trading platforms like Coinbase. Around $95,000 has formed a key cost support area, coupled with easing selling pressure, further solidifying this upward trend.

However, the derivatives market seems to be playing catch-up, as open interest and funding rates have not fully kept pace with the spot market's upward momentum. The options market positioning shows a cautious but optimistic stance, while the futures market currently shows little signs of excessive bullish leverage.