Bitcoin News Today: Bitcoin Withstands $9.6 Billion Sell-Off as Market Absorbs Historic Pressure

Bitcoin’s liquidity endured a major stress test over the past weekend as a Satoshi-era whale offloaded 80,000 BTC—valued at approximately $9.6 billion—through Galaxy Digital, likely via a combination of market sales and OTC transactions. Despite the scale of the transaction, the market “efficiently absorbed” the sell-side pressure, according to blockchain analytics firm Glassnode, marking it as “one of the largest discrete profit-taking events in its history” and “the single largest sell-side pressure event in Bitcoin’s history.”

The Realized Cap, a metric that measures the USD-denominated liquidity within the Bitcoin network, stood at over $1.02 trillion at the time of the report, highlighting the asset’s “immense and growing liquidity profile and market depth.”[1] The event also triggered a record high of $3.7 billion in the Net Realized Profit/Loss metric, indicating significant movement of coins prior to the final distribution.

Despite the sell-off, the Bitcoin market remained remarkably stable, with prices stabilizing at $119,000, just below the previous all-time high of $122,838. Over 97% of the circulating supply is still held by investors with significant unrealized profits, according to the report. The total unrealized profit across the market recently hit an all-time high of $1.4 trillion, underscoring the substantial gains currently embedded in the network.

Glassnode also noted that a decisive breakout above the current price range of $105,000 to $125,000 could “shift market dynamics” and potentially push Bitcoin toward $141,000. However, this level is expected to see increased sell-side pressure due to the high unrealized profit. Conversely, a potential pullback could face support in the $110,000 to $115,000 range, a “light volume zone” that could become a critical area to monitor.

The Long-Term Holder (LTH) Net Realized Profit/Loss metric also hit a new all-time high of $2.5 billion, up from $1.6 billion previously. Researchers observed a recurring pattern across Bitcoin’s three all-time high formations in this cycle: an initial phase of accumulation followed by a sharp pivot into aggressive distribution. The current phase appears to be in the distribution stage, with the LTH/STH supply ratio continuing to contract.

The market’s resilience during this event reinforces Bitcoin’s structural robustness, even during typically thinner weekend trading hours. The analysts concluded that while the majority of investors remain in profit, the environment could evolve if prices continue to rise, potentially leading to increased sell-side pressure in the future.

Source: [1] Bitcoin Liquidity Was Tested, But Investor Supermajority Stays in Profit (https://cryptonews.com/news/bitcoin-liquidity-was-tested-but-investor-supermajority-stays-in-profit/)