Bitcoin (BTC) recently hit a new all-time high (ATH) of $93,477 as the leading digital asset moved closer to the much-anticipated $100,000 target. Notably, the ongoing price rally has resulted in relatively mild profit-taking, fueling hopes that BTC has further room to surge.
Low profit taking for Bitcoin in the current cycle
According to a recent report from Glassnode, the current BTC price momentum is mainly driven by strong spot demand and rising institutional interest. In particular, the victory of US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has added optimism to the digital asset industry.
The report highlights that more than 95% of Bitcoin’s supply is currently in profit. However, despite the high percentage of profitable holders, profit-taking has remained relatively mild during this cycle.
Historically, during previous Bitcoin ATH cycles, monthly profit realizations have typically ranged between $30 and $50 billion. The current price discovery phase has seen approximately $20.4 billion in profits realized.
This relatively low level of profit-taking during the current BTC ATH cycle suggests that BTC prices have further room to rise, potentially reaching the $100,000 milestone before demand weakens.
The chart below shows the cost basis of new BTC investors, as well as the upper and lower limits of the statistical range. According to the report, during the ATH phase, as new investors enter the market at higher price points, the price of BTC repeatedly tests the upper limit.
As can be inferred from the above chart, BTC’s current spot price is $91,199, just below its upper limit of $94,900. Tracking price movements between these ranges can show when market prices may be high enough to force existing holders to sell their holdings.
Excess leverage must be flushed before $100,000 BTC
While BTC is trading less than 10% below the $100,000 level, industry experts believe that excess leverage must be cleared before the top digital asset attempts to reach the six-figure mark.
Data from Coinglass shows that more than $718 million worth of crypto contracts were liquidated in the past 24 hours, affecting 202,074 traders.
Notably, the percentage of contract liquidations between longs and shorts is fairly even – 49.93% and 50.07%, respectively – suggesting that despite the strong bullish sentiment, there is no clear trading advantage.
Some industry leaders remain optimistic about BTC’s future price trend. In October, the CEO of BTC mining company CleanSpark said that the premier digital asset could peak at $200,000 within the next 18 months.
Similarly, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes recently predicted that BTC could reach $1 million under the Trump administration. At press time, BTC is trading at $91,199, up 3.9% in the past 24 hours.
