Bitcoin hits 42-day high plateau, faces resistance

Bitcoin’s price has hovered above $100,000 for a record 42 consecutive days, failing to sprint past the $112,000 mark. Demand from spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is high, but on-chain data shows significant selling pressure from both long-term holders and intraday traders, keeping the market trapped in a tight range between $100,000 and $110,000.

According to the blockchain analytics platform Glassnode, wallets holding BTC for under one year are at the forefront of recent profit-taking. On Monday, this group was responsible for 83% of the total realized profit, with holders in the six-to-twelve-month range alone offloading $904 million worth of bitcoin. The figure is the second-highest realized profit by this age group in 2025.

Last week, we highlighted how $BTC wallets that held >12m were the primary profit-takers. But that trend has now flipped. Yesterday:

🔹 <12m cohorts accounted for 83% of all realized profit
🔹 6–12m holders alone realized $904M – second-highest daily profit YTD pic.twitter.com/gBD8tLCjVG

— glassnode (@glassnode) June 17, 2025

The chart also shows a decline in realized profits from holders of over ten years, where the oldest addresses have exited or are choosing to remain dormant. Meanwhile, short-term holder activity, particularly in the 1w–1m and 1m–3m ranges, is still on high levels, contributing to repeated price ceilings.

Short-term holders’ trading activity was at its highest earlier in the year. Yet, long-term holders, defined as those who held BTC for over one year, realized a peak of $1.2 billion in profits just last week. 

Profit takers cap market volatility

According to Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, this tug-of-war between buyer demand and selling on highs is compressing volatility. 

“Long-term OG investors continue to sell into the steady ETF-driven demand, effectively absorbing inflows and keeping price action in check,” Thielen said in a Thursday note to clients. “This dynamic has led to a compression in volatility, but a breakout is inevitable.”

CryptoQuant’s 30-day rolling chart shows net ETF inflows surged by 128,000 BTC in June, the strongest accumulation period since early 2024. The uptick precedes a more modest 36,000 BTC inflow seen in prior weeks.

However, even as ETFs absorbed vast amounts of supply, whale activity on centralized exchanges went up as well. Binance exchange reserves saw large BTC inflows from $2.3 billion to $4.59 billion in just 24 hours, coinciding with the ETF accumulation window. 

The simultaneous movement suggests that high-net-worth individuals, funds, or advanced trading desks were not exiting positions, but rather repositioning assets for liquidity access.

Some analysts argue these inflows do not necessarily reflect bearish intent. Instead, they could be linked to market makers preparing to arbitrage between ETF pricing and spot markets. 

On the mining side, data from IntoTheBlock shows that the combined balance in miner wallets declined by approximately 30,000 BTC in just 20 days, dropping from 1.94 million at the end of May to 1.91 million in mid-June. 

According to analysts, the miners’ share of total spot volume is currently at its lowest point since 2022, which has diminished their influence on price direction. 

Bitcoin market conflict over purpose

Alexander Blume, managing partner at SEC-registered adviser Two Prime, believes Bitcoin investors are in two minds on whether the coin is a speculative asset or a longer-term investment.

“Amidst the recent geopolitical turmoil, it makes sense that speculators and leverage traders are taking risk off the table. At the same time, new long-term investors are buying the dip,” Blume said in a recent interview. “It seems about right that we are currently at an equilibrium of these groups.”

Accumulation patterns that defined Bitcoin’s rally from $75,000 to six figures in early April have weakened. Benjamin Lilly, co-founder of Jarvis Labs, attributes this to a preference for capital-efficient strategies. 

KEY Difference Wire helps crypto brands break through and dominate headlines fast