Bitcoin Stuck Around $80K as Sellers Outpace Buyers

Bitcoin's price remains stuck around $80,000 due to sell-side pressure, despite investors avoiding mass profit-taking. According to data from CryptoQuant, all holder cohorts are now in profit on aggregate, which may present a hurdle for further gains unless sustained buyer support is seen.

The spent output profit ratio (SOPR), which measures the ratio of the current value of recently spent UTXOs to their value at creation, ticked up to 1.48 on August 22, indicating increased onchain activity involving in-profit coins. This suggests that long-term holders were realizing profits at a higher relative rate than short-term holders.

The Coinbase premium, which reflects US investor demand, remains negative at -0.015, underscoring weak demand from American investors. CryptoQuant notes that the key question is not whether Bitcoin can briefly touch $80,000, but whether new demand can absorb selling from profitable holders, which could come from ongoing returns to the US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).