Bitcoin hit by $20 million-an-hour selling pressure above $70,000

Bitcoin has once again seen heavy profit-taking above $70,000, according to Glassnode.

Daytrading bitcoins financial markets at a coffeeshop. (Austin Distel/Unsplash)
Summary
  • Bitcoin has once again seen heavy profit-taking above $70,000, with over $20 million in BTC sold per hour, capping the upside.
  • The $70K–$80K zone has been acting as a distribution range since February, with gains quickly sold into and momentum fading.
  • Prices briefly touched nearly $74,000 on Saturday before slipping back below $71,000 as the breakdown in Islamabad peace talks between the U.S. and Iran pushed oil higher and weighed on U.S. stock futures.

The bitcoin market has faced familiar problem since prices rose above $70,000 last week: a sharp rise in profit-taking.

More than $20 million worth of BTC has been sold per hour in profit realization, according to blockchain analytics firm Glassnode.

"Every approach to the $70k–$ 80k band faces thin liquidity and profit-taking pressure, capping the bounce. Another bounce to >$70k range was exhausted by >$20M/Hour profit realization," Glassnode said on X.

The message is clear: the $70,000–$80,000 band is less a battleground of conviction and more a persistent distribution zone, as has been observed since February.

In other words, rallies above $70,000 are consistently turning into liquidity events. Instead of buyers chasing momentum higher, holders are using strength as an exit window and the result is a market where every uptick is met with an immediate counterweight of supply.

Bitcoin is struggling to build momentum above $70,000. Prices briefly touched nearly $74,000 on Saturday before slipping back below $71,000 at the time of writing, as the breakdown in Islamabad peace talks between the U.S. and Iran pushed oil higher and weighed on U.S. stock futures.

Until that $20 million-per-hour pressure eases, bitcoin’s ceiling isn’t technical, but behavioral.

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