$8 Billion Bitcoin Profit-Taking Sparks July Sell-Off—Why Analysts Say a Rebound Is Imminent

Bitcoin bulls just got a reality check—$8 billion worth of profit-taking slammed the market in July. But don’t cue the funeral dirge yet.

The Great Unloading

Traders dumped BTC at a pace that’d make a Black Friday shopper blush. That $8 billion exodus? Classic ‘buy the rumor, sell the news’ behavior—with a side of institutional panic.

Rebound Loading…

Analysts spot the silver lining: historical data shows these sell-offs often precede violent rebounds. ‘Profit-taking isn’t capitulation—it’s the market breathing,’ quips one strategist between sips of overpriced artisanal coffee.

The Cynic’s Corner

Meanwhile, Wall Street ‘experts’ who called Bitcoin dead at $30K are now quietly repositioning—because nothing fuels FOMO like missing the next leg up. Stay greedy, folks.

• Bitcoin is beginning its third bull cycle profit wave, with one of the whales selling 80K BTC as the token crossed $120,000 at the end of July.
• Short-termers pocketed 5%, and long-term whales pocketed about 400% with peak activity on the market.
• The current lack of demand signals a temporary stall, not a turnaround, and the expectation is a further rally by the end of 2025 unless the past trends change.

CryptoQuant reports that Bitcoin has finished its third set of big profit-taking waves in the current 2023–2025 bull market. This cycle of a powerful incline, the mass profit taking, and the temporary market chilling now has been repeated three times. The recent wave, which began at the end of July, promises the opportunity of another bullish breakout through consolidation of the market.

The first wave was in March 2024, as it came as a result of the Warner vindication of use of bitcoin ETFs listed in the United States. Such an announcement took prices near $70,000 and the earlier investors fixed profits. 

Source: X

Bitcoin Peaks Again as New Whales Cash In

The second wave occurred from December 2024 to February 2025 based on the election triumph of Donald TRUMP that pushed Bitcoin beyond 100,000 and once more encouraged selling.

The third and most serious wave started in late July 2025 when Bitcoin was more than $120,000. One such moment was on July 25, when a longtime whale sold as many as 80,000 BTC within one day, when it was the most evident signal of profit-taking at its height. 

CryptoQuant perceives the mix of on-chain signals and exchange liquidation with investor behavior indicators as suggesting a textbook profit, pause, and push now occurring.

The profits capitalized by holders jumped from $6-$8 billion in late July to a level comparable to that experienced during sell-offs. The vast majority of the selling pressure was driven by the so-called new whales, “investors who had accumulated their amount of Bitcoin in a maximum of 155 days. 

SOPR Spikes as Whales Exit and Crypto Profits Surge

Short-term holder Spent Output Profit Ratio SOPR had gone to over 1.05, meaning many were selling at about a 5 percent profit. LTH collections saw even higher rates of returns, with the values of the SOPR levels pointing towards profits of up to 400 percent. 

Bitcoin was not the only currency that was evidence of profit realization. There were also large exits by Ethereum-based whales that owned such assets as USDT, USDC, and Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC). Stablecoins made more than $40 million worth in profits on some days in July, which is an indication of a broader risk-off shift in the crypto market.

In line with this trend, inflows on the foreign exchange ROSE significantly. Up to 70,000 BTC was transferred to exchanges on one day, which is a very good indication that the intention is to sell. The same case happened to altcoins as significant inflows showed that other classes of digital assets were also in profit-taking mode.

The interest of U.S. investors was showing small indicators of loss of interest, with the Coinbase premium tipping towards negative. Although this reflects on the low purchasing stress by American shareholders, world involvement is still strong and might stabilize the position of temporary activities.

Source: CryptoQuant

Nonetheless, analysts warn that this will only be a temporary halt and not a reversal of the trend. In the past, waves have resulted in short-term consolidations of between two and four months followed by a price rally back up the charts. Modern indicators point to the possibility of the same in the future.