Bitcoin Drops 2% as Mid-Cycle Buyers Sell $904M in Profits

Bitcoin investors who have held their BTC for 6 to 12 months have sold BTC worth $904 million, contributing to a significant profit-driven pullback in the market. This selling pressure is primarily driven by newer coins, which are causing a notable decline in Bitcoin's price.

Over the past month, Bitcoin has been trading in an ascending channel, allowing both short-term and long-term holders to enjoy substantial profits. With at least 98% of all holders currently in profit, the realization of these gains has intensified, leading to increased selling pressure. Mid-cycle buyers, who have held BTC for 6 to 12 months, have been particularly active in selling, realizing gains amounting to $904 million over the past day. This represents 83% of all realized profit and is the second-highest daily profit year-to-date.

This aggressive distribution by mid-cycle buyers indicates a shift in market dynamics, with newer holders driving the selling pressure. In contrast, Bitcoin holders with a 12-month holding period realized just $324 million in profits recently, a sharp decline from the $1.2 billion they offloaded during last week’s peak. This suggests a slowdown in profit-taking from long-term holders, as evidenced by a notable drop in the LTH SOPR metric from 3.4 to 1.8. The decline in profit realization from older coins indicates that seasoned Bitcoin holders are stepping back, allowing newer coins to exit the market and cause significant selling pressure.

Over the past day, the sharp increase in profit-taking from newly acquired coins has significantly influenced Bitcoin’s price action. As newer holders began realizing profits, BTC dropped from $108,990 to a low of $106,853, facing strong selling pressure. This decline pushed BTC back into its previous consolidation range, signaling that the bullish momentum was short-lived and sellers have reentered the market. The divergence in behavior between new and long-term holders is creating uncertainty, with new coins being sold while older coins remain dormant.

If this trend persists—with newer holders selling and LTHs holding steady—Bitcoin is likely to remain in a consolidation phase. In this scenario, LTHs would absorb the selling pressure, while newer holders would cap any significant upward movement. As a result, BTC may continue fluctuating between $104,000 and $106,000 until one side asserts dominance. A breakout above $107,000 and a sustainable push toward $110,000 would likely depend on a reduction in profit-taking from newer coins.