# Bitcoin Whales Shift to Withdrawals as Profit-Taking Remains Elevated By Enna Lee Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/27201 Published: 2026-10-07T03:04:20.000Z Updated: 2026-10-07T03:04:20.000Z Section: Investing > Bitcoin traded near $86,000 at 11 p.m. ET Oct. 6 as whale withdrawals followed more than three months of net deposits. Bitcoin (BTC) traded near $86,000 at 11 p.m. ET Oct. 6 (0300 UTC Oct. 7) as large holders shifted from depositing coins on exchanges to withdrawing them, while market profitability remained high and realized profits exceeded realized losses. Whales are entities holding at least 1,000 BTC. The exchange-flow measure subtracts withdrawals from deposits, so a negative netflow means withdrawals exceeded deposits. Whale flows turned to net withdrawals around late August after more than three months of net deposits. That deposit period lasted about twice as long as comparable periods since 2023. Sustained net deposits can indicate preparation for distribution, while sustained withdrawals can indicate movement into custody. The withdrawals do not establish whether whales plan to sell later. They show that Bitcoin moved away from exchanges, but do not confirm buying or selling intent. About 73.6% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply was in profit during the week ending Oct. 4. The realized profit-to-loss ratio was 1.3, meaning realized profits exceeded realized losses in the measured data. Profit-taking was also elevated during the same week. U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund weekly netflows fell 87.7% to $208.1 million during the week ending Oct. 4. NUPL, which measures aggregate unrealized profit and loss, remained positive. It fell to 0.09 during the current cycle before rising to 0.38 in roughly three months, an increase of about 300%. During the previous bear cycle, NUPL fell to negative 0.31. The data shows positive aggregate unrealized profit in the current cycle, unlike the negative reading recorded during the previous bear cycle. Profitable positions may reduce pressure to sell, while also giving holders more incentive to realize gains. Whales had accumulated 14,335 BTC since Oct. 1, valued at about $1.22 billion. An [earlier whale-accumulation report]() identified $83,300 to $84,600 as potential support after roughly 1.59 million BTC traded within that range. ## Links in this article - [earlier whale-accumulation report](https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/26996)