Short-Term Bitcoin Holders Just Sent a Yearly Record Amount of Profitable BTC to Exchanges

Short-term Bitcoin holders are taking profits at the fastest pace recorded in the past year, sending more than 48,000 BTC in profit to exchanges in a single day as Bitcoin attempted to break above $75,000.

The move represents a yearly high in profitable BTC flows from this cohort and adds a layer of selling pressure that helps explain why the $75,000 level has so far failed to hold.

What the Chart Shows

The Bitcoin Short-Term Holder P&L to Exchanges Sum 24H chart covers the period from early December 2025 through mid-March 2026. The green line tracking STH profit sent to exchanges shows a clear spike on the right side of the chart, reaching 34,100 to 36,000 BTC on the most recent reading.

That spike stands out visually against the relatively contained profit-taking activity seen throughout December, January, and most of February, and it coincides precisely with Bitcoin’s push toward its recent price highs.

The blue line representing total STH inflows to exchanges shows a similar but broader spike, confirming that the recent exchange activity from short-term holders is elevated across both profitable and overall positioning. The BTC price line running along the top of the chart adds the context: the profit-taking surge arrived as price approached levels not seen since Bitcoin’s peak above $90,000 in late 2024.

What It Means

Short-term holders are defined as wallets that have held Bitcoin for less than 155 days. This cohort tends to be more reactive to price movements than long-term holders, more likely to sell into strength and exit during uncertainty. The current behavior is consistent with that profile.

The macro environment is playing a role here. With the Federal Reserve expected to hold rates and the broader risk asset backdrop remaining uncertain, short-term holders appear unwilling to ride positions through potential volatility. Instead, each rally toward resistance is being treated as an exit opportunity rather than a signal to add. That dynamic creates a ceiling effect where buying pressure from new capital entering the market is partially absorbed by profit-taking from holders who bought at lower levels and are unwilling to hold through the next potential correction.

The scale of the current spike is notable precisely because it is a yearly high. It means more profitable BTC is moving to exchanges right now than at any point in the past twelve months, including during earlier rallies that carried Bitcoin above $90,000. That tells you something about the current level of conviction among this cohort, or more accurately, the lack of it.

What Comes Next

The key question is whether long-term holders and institutional buyers absorb the supply being deposited by short-term holders. If the $2.2 billion USDT inflow recorded on Binance earlier on March 18 represents fresh capital ready to deploy, it may be sufficient to offset the selling pressure from STH profit-taking and allow price to stabilize and rebuild.

If it is not sufficient, the combination of whale ratio pressure, short-term holder distribution, and a macro event in the form of the Fed decision creates conditions for a more meaningful pullback. The chart data does not tell you which outcome wins. It tells you that the selling pressure is real, it is coming from a specific and identifiable cohort, and it is currently running at the highest rate seen in over a year.

The post Short-Term Bitcoin Holders Just Sent a Yearly Record Amount of Profitable BTC to Exchanges appeared first on ETHNews.