Bitcoin Profit-Taking Eases as Holders Anticipate Further Gains

Bitcoin's recent surge to $87,000 has not been accompanied by increased profit-taking, suggesting that holders are holding off on sales in anticipation of further gains. According to cryptocurrency analyst Axel Adler Jr., seven-day realized profit reached $9.1 billion on August 26 when Bitcoin traded at $78,600. In contrast, the same metric stood at $7.3 billion on September 24 when Bitcoin rose to $84,100.

Adler notes that this pattern is significant because it indicates that holders are not rushing to sell their coins, even as prices climb higher. This is reflected in the STH SOPR indicator, which shows that short-term holders are still realizing gains on average, but the size of those gains is shrinking.

The market-wide realized profit at September highs was 19% lower than in August, despite Bitcoin trading at a higher price. Adler warns that the key gauge for identifying a bearish signal will be whether short-term holder SOPR falls below 1 and realized profit-and-loss metrics turn negative.