Bitcoin holders are cashing out, just not the way they did at prior market tops

Bitcoin holders are cashing out, just not the way they did at prior market tops

Your day-ahead look for Sept. 25, 2026

This is an excerpt from CoinDesk newsletter 'Daybook.' Sign up here, if you haven't already.

Bitcoin's BTC$84,726.85 recent surge has some traders liquidating the coins to take profits on their holdings. But the pace of this operation is far slower than at prior market peaks, a positive sign for the market.

BTC has rallied by 44% to nearly $85,000 this quarter, its best performance since the final three months of 2024, according to CoinDesk data. The strong rise comes after three straight quarters of red ink.

Naturally, some are taking profits, as evidenced by the net realized profit/loss metric. It records the dollar gains locked in when coins actually move on-chain at a price above the last price at which they changed hands.

Analysts treat that prior transfer as a cost basis: if a coin bought or last spent at $40,000 is later sent or sold at $84,000, the $44,000 difference is booked as realized profit.

Investors have recently realized $2.4 billion in profits after the price surge, according to data tracked by Bitfinex.

"BTC holders just realised $2.4bn in profits. At prior market tops, daily realized profits ran between $7bn and $10bn," Bitfinex said on X.

In the meantime, ETFs continue to attract money and have now registered a net inflow of $2.84 billion in six days. That's more than profits realized by holders. Further, ETFs are now up nearly $800 million in net inflows for the year.

Ether too is giving bullish signals. According to Bitfinex, around 410,000 ETH has come off exchanges in a month, while U.S. spot ether ETFs have attracted $680 million in investor money across four sessions. That is painting a bullish picture for the near term.

As of this writing, bitcoin, ether and other majors did not show any signs of weakness in the wake of the $452 million Bitget hack.

In traditional markets, rallies in the Dollar Index and Treasury yields appear to have stalled for now, a relief for risk assets. However, oil volatility stays high amid confusing headlines related to the Iran war. Stay alert!

Read more: For analysis of today's activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today . For a comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's "Crypto Week Ahead."

What’s trending

Bitcoin ETFs have erased a $5.8 billion hole (CoinDesk): They've poured billions into U.S.-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in recent weeks. The result: these ETFs now sit on nearly $800 million in net inflows for the year. That's a 180-degree turn from the red ink earlier this year. Bitget's $352 million hack happened via spoofed transfers, not private keys, CEO Gracy Chen says (CoinDesk): Crypto exchange Bitget lost $351.6 million in an overnight hack. CEO Gracy Chen said attackers faked transfer requests to drain funds but did not steal “private keys.” That distinction matters and points to a less alarming attack vector. Stocks weather bond storm, oil retreats slightly (Reuters): Global stocks headed for their best weekly performance since early August, as AI euphoria and the prospect of ​an improvement in Middle East energy supplies won out over surging bond yields for now. Oil prices retreated as traders weighed up the possibility of a ‌truce between the United States and Iran. Stock futures are little changed as Dow heads for fourth straight losing week (CNBC): U.S. equity futures were little changed early Friday as Treasury yields continued their climb. S&P 500 futures were down 0.05%, and Nasdaq-100 futures inched higher. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3 points, or 0.01%.

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Today’s signal

The chart shows solana’s daily price swings in candlestick format with the 365-day average of the price overlaid.

SOL’s price is now trading at a premium to its 365-day average, a bullish breakout that suggests a long-term bullish trend change. Bitcoin, too, has seen a similar development on its price chart.

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