Opinion: Bitcoin holders are taking profits, but on a scale far below historical tops

BlockBeats news, September 25 — As Bitcoin recently rebounded to around $85,000, holders began taking profits, but the scale of realized profits was notably lower than during previous market tops. Data shows that BTC holders have recently realized cumulative profits of about $2.4 billion, whereas during historical market tops, single-day realized profits typically reached $7 billion to $10 billion.

BTC has risen about 44% so far this quarter, peaking near $85,000, marking its best quarterly performance since Q4 2024, following three consecutive quarters of declines.

Meanwhile, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded cumulative net inflows of about $2.84 billion over the past 6 trading days, exceeding BTC holders' realized profits over the same period; year-to-date cumulative net inflows into ETFs have also turned positive at about $800 million.

Ethereum has similarly shown signs of capital flowing out of exchanges. Over the past month, about 410,000 ETH was transferred out of trading platforms, and U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs attracted about $680 million in cumulative inflows over the past 4 trading days.

Following the approximately $452 million hack of Bitget, BTC, ETH, and other major crypto assets have shown no obvious signs of weakening. At the same time, the rise in U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar index has temporarily slowed, but oil market volatility remains elevated amid news related to U.S.-Iran tensions.