Bitcoin Profit-Taking Surges After Golden Cross and Record Highs

Bitcoin (BTC) holders are increasingly taking profits after the cryptocurrency hit new all-time highs and signaled long-term bullish momentum. On May 22, Bitcoin’s 50-day simple moving average (SMA) crossed above the 200-day SMA, forming a “golden cross,” a classic technical indicator of sustained upside potential. That same day, BTC surged past $111,000, according to CoinDesk.

Despite the bullish signal, on-chain data reveals a sharp uptick in profit-taking. Glassnode reports that entity-adjusted realized profit exceeded $500 million per hour three times in the past 24 hours—marking the most aggressive selling since February. This metric calculates realized gains by comparing coins’ current transaction prices to their last movement price, adjusted to exclude internal transfers.

Glassnode’s data also shows a steady increase in realized profits since mid-May. The entity-adjusted Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR), which measures profitability of spent coins while filtering out self-transfers, confirms a shift toward profit realization. On average, coins moved recently have captured a 16% gain—making current market conditions more profitable than over 92% of previous trading days.

While profit-taking is clearly underway, Glassnode notes that current activity hasn’t yet reached the intensity of past market peaks, suggesting the rally may not be over. As of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $105,600.

The surge in profit realization comes amid heightened interest in institutional crypto products. President Donald Trump’s media company, Truth Social, has taken a step toward launching a spot Bitcoin ETF via NYSE Arca, further fueling market interest and mainstream adoption.

This convergence of technical strength, investor profit-taking, and ETF developments positions Bitcoin at a critical juncture, with eyes on whether bullish momentum or selling pressure will dominate in the near term.