Bitcoin's short-term holders are sitting on their widest paper gains in nearly two years, with the trader profit and loss margin climbing to 30.7%, the highest reading since December 2024. The move comes as Bitcoin pushes toward an eight-month high, but CryptoQuant data also points to rising sell pressure from traders ready to cash out.
Bitcoin traders' profit and loss margin has climbed to 30.7%, the highest reading since December 2024. The rally lifted Bitcoin toward an eight-month high of around $87,400, and the fatter the paper gains grow, the more traders face a choice between holding and cashing out.
Short-term holders carry an even wider cushion
Short-term holders, defined as traders who bought Bitcoin within the last one to three months, show an even bigger gap between cost and current price. Data from CryptoQuant, shared by Head of Research Julio Moreno on September 26, 2026, put their unrealized profit margin at approximately 33%, also the peak since December 2024. As a result, traders who bought within the last quarter are, on average, up roughly a third on paper.
On September 22, Bitcoin holders booked net profits of 25,700 BTC, the largest single-day profit realization recorded in 2026, arriving during the same rally that carried Bitcoin close to its eight-month high.
A bull market showing signs of fatigue
Bitcoin posted a weekly close above its 365-day moving average, which sits at $80,000, confirming it remains in a bull market. Yet underneath that headline strength, CryptoQuant's analysis points to rising sell-side pressure tied to profit-taking, alongside weakening spot demand and a slowdown in futures growth.
Short-term holders matter here because they tend to react faster than long-term investors: they bought recently, often with shorter time horizons, so a 33% paper gain looks a lot more tempting to someone holding for weeks than to someone holding for years. Therefore, if a large share of them sell at roughly the same time, the added supply could push prices lower and stir up volatility.
Two support levels to watch
Two support levels stand out in the analysis. The first is the 365-day moving average at $80,000. The second is the 200-day moving average near $71,000. If Bitcoin dips but holds above those lines, the move reads as consolidation inside an ongoing uptrend. If those levels break, the story shifts from a breather to something more serious.
For traders, the watchlist is short: whether realized profits keep spiking after the September 22 record, whether spot demand stabilizes or keeps fading, and how price behaves around $80,000, the level doing most of the work in the current bull case.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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