Bitcoin Profit-Taking Rises as Whales Cash Out Amid Historic Highs

Bitcoin investors are increasingly locking in profits after the cryptocurrency’s recent all-time high above $111,000, signaling a potential cooling phase in the market. Both on-chain data and whale activity point to a notable rise in profit-taking, despite technical indicators flashing long-term bullish momentum.

On May 22, Bitcoin’s 50-day simple moving average (SMA) crossed above its 200-day SMA—a bullish “golden cross” pattern indicating upward momentum. Coinciding with this, Bitcoin hit a record high near $112,000. However, instead of holding for further gains, investors appear to be cashing out.

According to Glassnode, entity-adjusted realized profit—an indicator measuring actual profit from on-chain transactions—spiked above $500 million per hour three times on June 3. This marks the most intense profit-taking activity since February.

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The average coin sold captured a 16% profit, and less than 8% of trading days in Bitcoin’s history have been more profitable.

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Supporting this trend, the entity-adjusted Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR) also reflects a strong uptick in profit-taking, especially since the second half of May. While current activity is not yet at historic peak levels, analysts suggest a clear transition from accumulation to profit realization is underway.

Meanwhile, long-term “whale” holders—those controlling wallets with 10,000 to 100,000 BTC—have continued a multi-year trend of selling into strength. Analyst Willy Woo noted that this cohort has been reducing its holdings since 2017, with total supply held by these whales dropping from 2.7 million BTC to 1.6 million BTC over the past eight years. Most of these coins were acquired when Bitcoin traded between $0 and $700.

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Despite the ongoing profit-taking, Woo remains optimistic about Bitcoin’s long-term trajectory, stating that a decade from now, BTC could prove to be one of the best-performing investments of this era.

As of early June, Bitcoin has pulled back about 5.5% from its peak and is hovering near $105,750. Notably, it has now held above the $100,000 level for a record 27 consecutive days, surpassing the previous 18-day streak in January.