Bitcoin Takes a Breather—Here’s Why the BTC Bull Run Still Has Legs in 2025

Profit-taking hits Bitcoin—but don’t bet against the king yet.

Four forces are fueling BTC’s next surge while Wall Street scrambles to keep up.

1. Institutional FOMO reloaded: BlackRock’s ETF inflows just hit record highs—again. The suits are late, but they’re finally all-in.

2. Halving afterglow: That supply crunch isn’t a theory anymore. Miners are hoarding, exchanges are drying up, and your FOMO is justified.

3. Macro tailwinds: The Fed’s rate cuts are coming (we promise this time). Suddenly, that 21 million hard cap looks even sexier.

4. Shorts getting wrecked: Liquidations are piling up faster than a Celsius withdrawal queue. The market loves nothing more than punishing doubters.

So yeah, traders are cashing out—just like they did at $30K, $60K, and every ATH before this. Meanwhile, the real money’s playing chess, not checkers. As always.

*Cue the ‘Bitcoin is dead’ headlines from banks that missed the boat… again.*

Key Takeaways

Institutional investors have been a major catalyst for Bitcoin’s recent dip, but whale and miner activity remains strongly bullish, providing fuel for a potential rally.

Bitcoin [BTC] has entered a consolidation phase following its all-time high above $123,000, a zone typically marked by accumulation before a major breakout.

Interestingly, profit-taking among long-term holders has reached its highest level this year. Still, other market signals indicate Bitcoin may continue to rise.

Profit-taking spikes—But from its top

In the past 24 hours, long-term holders (LTHs) have begun selling bitcoin to lock in profits, according to CryptoQuant.

This trend is confirmed by the Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR), which has climbed above 2.5, its highest level so far this year.

Despite the spike in realized profits, the SOPR remains below 4.0. Historically, this threshold has marked Bitcoin’s local tops, including in 2021.

Source: CryptoQuant

This suggests that, even with Bitcoin trading just $5,000 shy of its all-time high, long-term holders have not fully exited the market, an indication of room for further upside.

However, if LTHs continue selling, it could exert additional downward pressure on price.

At press time, the Binary Coin Days Destroyed (Binary CDD) indicator showed a reading of 1, signaling continued selling by long-term holders.

If this trend persists, Bitcoin may decline further from its current chart level.

Other market forces remain bullish

While many long-term holders are offloading Bitcoin, analysis reveals that whales—who command significant trading liquidity—and miners are still showing bullish behavior.

The Whale Exchange Ratio on CryptoQuant is currently at 0.42. This suggests that whales are actively trading on exchanges, with recent gains hinting at further bullish momentum.

Source: CryptoQuant

Similarly, the Miner Position Index (MPI) is at -0.2 and trending upward. When the MPI is in negative territory, it implies miners are holding onto their Bitcoin.

If this negative trend continues, it confirms that miners remain bullish on Bitcoin. This behavior could reduce circulating supply and create the conditions for a supply squeeze.

Temporary pullback or deeper shift?

Institutional investors have turned bearish. In the past 24 hours, they sold $131.40 million worth of Bitcoin—ending a 12-day streak of net buying.

Still, their total net holdings remain at $111.47 billion per CoinGlass.

Source: CoinGlass

This MOVE appears to be a profit-taking event, in line with the SOPR trend, and may simply represent a pullback rather than a broader shift in sentiment.

A renewed surge in institutional buying WOULD signal that bullish momentum has resumed—possibly pushing Bitcoin out of its current consolidation range.