Bitcoin Whales Just Realized $2.6B In Profit, Is the Market About to Crack or Soar?

Bitcoin remains within a relatively tight range, struggling to gain sufficient momentum to break the $110,000 mark. At the time of writing, the leading crypto by market cap trades at $106,437, down 1.1% over the past 24 hours and nearly 4.8% below its May all-time high.

The current consolidation range between $105,000 and $107,000 has prompted close monitoring of market behavior, especially from whales and long-term holders (LTHs), as the market attempts to find its next direction.

Bitcoin Whales Lead Market Activity as Profit Realization Surges

Recent data from CryptoQuant suggests that a significant shift in realized profits on Binance may be influencing short-term price trends. CryptoQuant analyst Crazzyblockk highlighted a major event on June 16, when over $2.6 billion in profits were realized on Binance alone, the second-largest spike of its kind on the platform.

This activity was followed by immediate selling pressure and market reaction, suggesting that profit-taking from large investors remains a core factor in the current price movement .

According to Crazzyblockk, the June 16 event saw a total of $4.5 billion in realized profits across centralized exchanges, with Binance accounting for nearly 58% of that volume.

“This milestone is more than just a data point — it’s a reminder of Binance’s unmatched influence on global crypto markets,” the analyst wrote.

He emphasized Binance’s role in price discovery and how whale behavior on the platform often serves as a proxy for broader market sentiment. As institutional participants and high-net-worth investors execute large moves on Binance, their actions can foreshadow phases of trend reversals or sustained accumulation.

The data also shows the importance of tracking realized profit and loss (PnL) metrics, especially on high-volume exchanges. The event reflects what Crazzyblockk described as “strategic profit-taking by sophisticated participants,” many of whom rely on Binance’s infrastructure for executing high-liquidity trades.

Long-Term Holder Selling Seen as Constructive Rotation

In a separate QuickTake post , CryptoQuant analyst Yonsei Dent offered a different perspective by analyzing long-term holder activity.

Dent observed that although Bitcoin has been trading sideways between $100,000 and $110,000 since May, on-chain indicators such as Spent Output Age Bands (SOAB) and Binary CDD show persistent selling from long-term holders.

These are entities that have held their coins for more than six months, indicating a redistribution of supply. However, Dent argues that this selling may not imply weakness .

“Despite this steady LTH selling, the price hasn’t broken down. This means the market is absorbing the sell pressure—implying new demand is coming in,” he explained. According to Dent, this dynamic, a rotation from older holders to new buyers, is common during mid-to-late stages of a bull market.

He also noted increased activity from coins held for one to three years, possibly reflecting profit-taking from previous cycle participants. Ultimately, Dent suggested the market may be undergoing a quiet redistribution, a phase that could lay the groundwork for future upside if buy-side demand remains strong.

Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView