Recent price surges in the cryptocurrency market have prompted long-term investors to secure profits, leading to a significant sell-off totaling around $2.8 billion. This activity coincides with broader market cooling down and heightened volatility.
Analysis firm Glassnode revealed that long-term holders of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple’s XRP, Solana (SOL), and Tron (TRX) collectively realized billions in profits between July 18th and August 20th, leading to increased market pressure.
Bitcoin saw the largest profit-taking event of approximately $1.5 billion on July 18th, followed by Ethereum with a substantial $575 million spike on August 16th.
Solana’s profits mirrored this activity, hitting over $105 million on August 17th, its highest since early 2025. XRP also experienced a significant profit-taking event of $375 million in July 24th.
This strategic selling reflects the calculated decision of seasoned investors to lock in profits from recent market rallies, thereby influencing current price pressures.
The sell-off follows a period of strong growth for major cryptocurrencies, but has also coincided with increased volatility across the board. Bitcoin dipped below $113,000, dragging down Ethereum and other digital currencies, leading to a widespread market cooldown.
Market sentiment is shifting as short-term investors are facing losses while long-term holders are cashing out.
The situation has created an interesting contrast between long- and short-term participants, with short-term investors struggling. A CryptoQuant report highlights the impact of this trend on Bitcoin’s short-term performance, which experienced realized losses for the first time since early 2023.
Meanwhile, Tron bucks the trend by offering a promising outlook. Despite heavy long-term profit-taking earlier in the month, its short-term TRX holders are sitting on gains exceeding 30%, fueling optimism about further market momentum.