Bitcoin holders are taking profits, but the selling is not as heavy as during earlier market peaks. Long-term holders are selling some of their Bitcoin, but the current profit-taking pattern in September 2026 looks different from previous major tops.
Long-term Bitcoin holders are making much smaller gains than they did at the last major peak. Their average gain is about 72% now, compared with around 350% in December 2024, according to CryptoQuant.
Bitcoin selling pressure stays low
This smaller profit may be reducing the pressure to sell. Investors who bought Bitcoin at much lower prices had a much bigger reason to lock in profits during the earlier peak. Today, the average gains are far lower, so the incentive to sell may also be weaker, according to 24/7 Wall St.
Bitcoin is still holding around $84,100 despite the selling. As of September 26, Bitcoin was trading near $84,100, up 4.6% over the previous month. A major reason Bitcoin is staying supported could be buying from mid-sized wallets. Wallets holding between 100 and 1,000 BTC have added a combined 113,950 BTC since July 15, according to Santiment.
Big Bitcoin wallets add 113,950 BTC
These wallets now hold about 5.24 million BTC. Their total holdings increased by about 2.2% between mid-July and late September. These 100-to-1,000 BTC wallets can belong to wealthy investors, hedge funds and trading firms. However, wallet size alone does not reveal exactly who owns the Bitcoin or why the balance has increased.
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The 113,950 BTC increase does not necessarily mean that investors bought 113,950 BTC from the open market. A fund could split its Bitcoin across several wallets, while a crypto exchange could move customers’ coins into large addresses. Therefore, some of the increase could simply be wallet-to-wallet transfers, according to 24/7 Wall St.
Bitcoin wallet data shows accumulation
On-chain data also cannot show every type of buying activity. A large amount of Bitcoin trading happens inside exchange order books, so those trades may not appear as new movements between blockchain addresses.
This means the wallet increase is a sign of accumulation, but it is not proof of $113,950 BTC worth of new money entering Bitcoin. The data shows that these wallets hold more Bitcoin, but it does not fully explain whether the coins came from fresh purchases, transfers or a combination of both.
Long-term Bitcoin holders sell less
Long-term holders were responsible for much more selling during the major Bitcoin tops in 2025. These investors are generally defined in the report as people who have held Bitcoin for at least five months. Long-term holders often have the biggest unrealized profits because they bought earlier. When these investors sell during a rally, newer buyers can end up purchasing Bitcoin at much higher prices, increasing the risk of selling pressure when demand eventually weakens.
Glassnode measures this selling pressure through its sell-side risk ratio. The measure compares realized profits and losses with the overall value of the Bitcoin supply. The sell-side risk ratio was much higher during the 2025 market peaks. It reached 35 basis points per day at the July 2025 market high and 23 basis points per day at the October 2025 peak, according to Glassnode.
Bitcoin profit-taking falls from 2025
By early September 2026, the same measure had fallen to only 7 basis points per day. This suggests that the amount of profit-taking was considerably lower than during the major 2025 peaks. Long-term holders are also making up a much smaller share of realized Bitcoin profits. In early September, they accounted for about 47% of realized profits, down from 88% at the August peak, according to 24/7 Wall St.
Bitcoin ETFs support prices
Bitcoin ETFs provided another source of buying demand while holders were selling. Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded about $999 million in inflows on September 21, providing additional demand for Bitcoin. Bitcoin has also remained relatively strong despite higher U.S. Treasury yields. The 10-year Treasury yield reached 5% on September 15, its highest level since 2007.
Higher Treasury yields can make Bitcoin less attractive to some investors. U.S. government bonds provide interest income, while Bitcoin does not pay interest. Despite that competition, Bitcoin still gained 3.3% in the week leading up to September 26, according to 24/7 Wall St.
Bitcoin’s recent decline was also less severe than previous bear markets. Glassnode said Bitcoin did not fall below its realized price, which represents the average price at which coins were last moved. The June 2026 Bitcoin low was the shallowest bear-market bottom since 2017, according to Glassnode. That relatively smaller decline may have helped more committed investors stay invested instead of selling during the downturn.
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Bitcoin price faces key $83,000 level
Bitcoin is also on track for its first winning third quarter since 2012. However, this historical pattern only describes past performance and does not guarantee that Bitcoin will continue rising. The key difference in September 2026 is the level of long-term-holder selling. Their profit-taking is running at only about one-fifth of the pace seen at the July 2025 peak. The lower average profit of long-term holders is another important factor. Their average gain of about 72% today is far below the 350% gain recorded in December 2024, according to CryptoQuant.
This makes long-term-holder selling more important to watch than the headline 113,950 BTC accumulation figure. The increase in 100-to-1,000 BTC wallets shows that these addresses hold more Bitcoin, but the data does not clearly identify whether those coins represent fresh buying or transfers.
There is a key price level that Bitcoin holders should watch. Long-term holders accumulated about 1.07 million BTC between $83,000 and $86,000. A sustained move below $83,000 could put some of those buyers in a loss position. If that happens, some investors could become more willing to sell, potentially increasing downward pressure on Bitcoin.
Bitcoin big wallets could change trend
The other risk is that the big wallets could start selling their recent accumulation. If wallets holding 100 to 1,000 BTC begin unloading the 113,950 BTC they accumulated since mid-July, the current buying support could weaken.
For now, Bitcoin’s rise is happening alongside two different trends: some long-term investors are taking profits, while mid-sized large wallets are holding more Bitcoin. ETF inflows and relatively limited long-term-holder selling have also provided support.
The main question for Bitcoin’s next move is therefore not simply whether holders are selling. The bigger issue is which holders are selling, how aggressively they are selling, and whether the wallets that accumulated Bitcoin since July continue to hold their coins.