Bitcoin slipped to its lowest level in four weeks late Thursday, with Glassnode analysts citing profit-taking by long-term holders and fading institutional demand as reasons behind the king crypto’s devastating trading week.
The largest coin by market cap dropped under $109,000 just over a week after the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) cut its benchmark interest rate. The week-long fall took Bitcoin to prices below $109,000, levels not seen since September 4, according to data from TradingView. On Coinbase, Bitcoin traded at $108,700 in late Thursday.
Although the asset has not yet revisited the $107,500 low recorded on September 1, Glassnode predicts its cooling phase is in the beginning.
Long-term holders turn to profit-taking
According to the crypto market analytics firm, long-term bitcoin holders have realized around 3.4 million BTC in profits. At the same time, short-term investors are struggling to keep Bitcoin upwards of a critical cost basis near $110,000, and a sustained break below this threshold could accelerate losses.
Glassnode noted that long-term holder distribution surged around the FOMC decision, with 122,000 BTC being sold monthly. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) net inflows collapsed from 2,600 BTC per day to almost zero on a seven-day average basis.
The analysts said the combination of rising sell pressure and fading institutional demand created a vulnerable backdrop for bitcoin.
Glassnode researchers compared current conditions to the steady advance seen in 2015–2017, though they did not include a final surge phase that characterized that period. If $124,000 proves to be the global top, this cycle has so far lasted 1,030 days. That figure closely matches the roughly 1,060-day lengths of the previous two market cycles.
Stop-loss selling could take Bitcoin further into the red-zone
Bitcoin sentiment all round the market seems mostly “gloomy,” as more analysis points to further downside risks. Markus Thielen, head of research at 10x Research, said the coin’s rebound from early September lows “quickly lost momentum.”
At the time of this publication, BTC prices are hovering near those levels again, and according to Thielen, another spree of stop-loss selling is coming.
According to Glassnode’s data, the cumulative value of capital absorbed into bitcoin, known as “Realized Cap,” has risen in three distinct waves since November 2022 and now stands at $1.06 trillion.
Realized cap growth in previous cycles was recorded as $4.2 billion between 2011–2015, $85 billion between 2015–2018, and $383 billion between 2018–2022. The current cycle has seen $678 billion in net inflows, nearly 1.8 times the prior cycle.
Unlike earlier phases, where single prolonged waves dominated, this cycle has produced three separate multi-month surges. Each has coincided with heavy profit-taking, with more than 90% of moved coins sold at a profit.
Per Glassnode’s insight, there is a pattern of cyclical peaks seen in a market stepping back from its third such extreme, which is raising the likelihood of a prolonged cooling phase.
Volatile trading week sends US Dollar upwards
Bitcoin’s woes began on Monday when prices dropped from $115,500 to $112,000. Although the market recovered some ground mid-week, another selloff on Thursday drove BTC down to $108,600 on Bitstamp.
As expected, gold advocate and long-time bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff jabbed the crypto community, saying the drop was the “start of a bear market.”
Bitcoin is not living up to its hype. Priced in gold, Bitcoin is now 20% below its record high set in August. In other words, Bitcoin is in a bear market. Since Bitcoin is promoted as being digital gold, being down 20% in gold is more significant than being down 10% in dollars.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) September 23, 2025
Spot gold slipped 0.2% to $3,741.21 per ounce by early Friday in Asia, even as the metal remained up 1.6% for the week. US gold futures for December delivery were steady at $3,771.30. The dollar index hovered near a three-week high, making gold and other dollar-priced assets more expensive for foreign investors.
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