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