Key points: Bitcoin investors are making the most of the highest price levels in several months by cashing out profits. These are averaging $1 billion per day, leading to concerns that the market comeback may stall or even reverse. Institutional participation has not led to a change in mindset, CryptoQuant says. Bitcoin ( BTC ) risks a “local top or sharp correction” if current levels of profit-taking continue, new research warns. In a “Quicktake” blog post on May 8, onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant flagged elevated realized profits among BTC investors. BTC profit-taking spikes to January highs Bitcoin realized profits have spiked to multimonth highs this week as BTC/USD reached close to $98,000. For CryptoQuant, the market is becoming comparable to late 2024, when the pair broke through old all-time highs and hit $100,000 for the first time. “Even after positive price action after March-April drop in 2025, profit taking is still aggressive. Maybe not like November-December 2024 but still high,” contributor Kripto Mevsimi wrote. “This is historically consistent with late-stage bull market behavior — where profit-taking dominates, even as price continues to rise.” Bitcoin net realized profit and loss. Source: CryptoQuant CryptoQuant data puts the current 7-day moving average realized profit across the hodler spectrum at approximately $1 billion per day. “If we look back at similar cycles (e.g. 2021), this phase often preceded a local top or sharp correction, especially when profit-taking stayed high and continuous,” it continued. No hiding from Bitcoin “investor psychology” As Cointelegraph reported , some market commentators have argued that the Bitcoin investment landscape has fundamentally changed thanks to increased institutional participation. Related: Bitcoin pushes for $98K as 2025 Fed rate cut odds flip 'pessimistic' Chief among the new players are the US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the largest of which, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), has seen net inflows every day for more than two weeks . Despite this, Kripto Mevsimi contends that underlying reactions to BTC price changes remain the same. “Since spot ETFs launched in January 2024, market structure has changed — but investor psychology hasn’t,” he summarized. Source: Farside Investors This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
