Bitcoin Whales Sitting on $9B in Unrealized Profits, Fueling Selling Risk

Bitcoin whales are holding onto unrealized profits of over $9 billion, a record high according to data from CryptoQuant. This figure represents short-term holder (STH) whales who hold coins that are less than six months old.

The STH cohort's aggregate unrealized profit hit a new multi-year high of $9.07 billion on September 4. However, this figure fell by 17% the next day as the price of BTCUSD declined by just under 2%. The breakeven point for STH whales is currently near $69,000.

CryptoQuant warns that further price decline may induce selling from these whales, who are traditionally seen as being speculative in nature and more sensitive to smaller market shifts. 'Unrealized profit at that scale is exposure,' CryptoQuant commented. 'A cohort sitting on a record paper gain can turn into sellers the moment price wobbles, and STH whales are historically the fastest to take profit when it's available.'

The risk of selling from short-term holders is also indicated by onchain data showing growing inflows to exchanges since May 1. On September 2, BTC reserves on Binance reached 691,658 BTC, a two-year high.