Long-term holders are selling some of their Bitcoin, but the current profit-taking pattern in September 2026 looks different from previous major tops.
Bitcoin holders are taking profits, but the selling is not as heavy as during earlier market peaks.
A major reason Bitcoin is staying supported could be buying from mid-sized wallets. 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. Wallets holding between 100 and 1,000 BTC have added a combined 113,950 BTC since July 15, according to Santiment.
However, wallet size alone does not reveal exactly who owns the Bitcoin or why the balance has increased. 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. These investors are generally defined in the report as people who have held Bitcoin for at least five months. 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.
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. Long-term holders were responsible for much more selling during the major Bitcoin tops in 2025. 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.
Because they bought earlier, long-term holders often have the biggest unrealized profits.
The June 2026 Bitcoin low was the shallowest bear-market bottom since 2017, according to Glassnode. Bitcoin’s recent decline was also less severe than previous bear markets. That relatively smaller decline may have helped more committed investors stay invested instead of selling during the downturn.
Glassnode said Bitcoin did not fall below its realized price, which represents the average price at which coins were last moved.
