Key points:

• Bitcoin profit-taking is in full swing, but this can end up sustaining the bull market, Santiment research argues.

• Coins are spending increasingly less time in wallets, but the market is not suffering from “short-term speculation.”

• One whale unable to take profits is Hyperliquid’s James Wynn, liquidated for $99 million.

Bitcoin (BTC) should enjoy continued upside despite hodlers taking profits on their holdings, says new research.

In its latest Biweekly Report on May 29, research firm Santiment stayed bullish on the market outlook as BTC/USD dropped 10%.

Bitcoin profit-taking can “help keep rally alive”

Bitcoin profit-taking need not be a sign that the bull market is nearing its end, Santiment says.

Analyzing the Mean Dollar-Invested Age (MDIA) metric — length of time coins spend in wallets without moving — it revealed that the supply has begun to activate since mid-April.

“During most bull cycles, a falling MDIA (meaning average holding wallets are getting younger) is a great validator that bullish momentum will continue,” it explains. 

“More technically, a falling line indicates that old coins are being brought back into circulation, allowing utility to rise and an asset’s network to grow and flourish. Since mid-April, when tensions began to ease over the initial tariff announcements, Bitcoin’s MDIA has been dropping steadily.”

The average time coins are held in a wallet has decreased modestly over the past six weeks, from 443 to 426 days.

While this signals that their owners seek to lock in profits, Santiment argues that such behavior is “necessary to help keep a rally alive.”

“This adds weight to the argument that the market is in an active phase, and not just being driven by short-term speculation,” it adds.

Hyperliquid whale pays a high price at $105,000

BTC price consolidation saw a return below $105,000 after the May 29 daily close, marking a 10% correction versus its latest all-time highs.

Related: Bitcoin can reach $200K in 2025 after ‘obvious’ price breakout signal

Despite this, sentiment remains conspicuously bullish, with consensus seeing a “healthy” support retest before upside continuation.

#Bitcoin – imagine being bearish on this bullish retest pic.twitter.com/2cyKvmhz8n

— Mags (@thescalpingpro)

May 30, 2025

Others note continued large tranches of BTC leaving exchanges, including a 7,000 BTC transaction on May 30, which trader Merlijn attributed to a single whale entity.

Santiment was meanwhile among those commenting on the fate of one whale in particular, Hyperliquid’s James Wynn, whose long BTC position was liquidated for $99 million as the price dropped below the $105,000 mark.

“When major longs get liquidated, prices typically move down sharply because the major capital is no longer propping up price,” it warned prior to the event.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.