Bitcoin’s recent rally has propelled short-term holder (STH) whales — those holding more than 1,000 BTC acquired in the past five months — to roughly $10.1 billion in unrealized profits, according to CryptoQuant.
These STH whales, often quick to react during volatile swings, have gone from losses in late September to substantial gains thanks to ETF inflows, a weaker dollar, and the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.
Signs of profit-taking are already visible: exchange inflows show $5.7 billion moved from STH wallets to exchanges earlier this week, indicating that some holders are converting gains into cash.
This cycle has also seen significant transfers from long-term holders (LTHs) to STHs. Checkonchain reports that 3.45 million BTC have shifted to short-term wallets — a level reminiscent of the 2016–17 cycle, though at valuations nearly 100 times higher.
Analysts warn that while current demand may absorb some selling, a large-scale cash-out by these whales could quickly transform $10.1 billion in unrealized gains into real selling pressure, testing Bitcoin’s short-term support levels.
