Bitcoin holders are cashing out, just not the way they did at prior market tops
Your day-ahead look for Sept. 25, 2026
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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.

