Bitcoin's recent run may be slowing down — but that doesn't mean it isn't in a bull market. That is the assessment of a new report from data analytics firm CryptoQuant, which says signs of profit-taking are emerging across the market.

Bitcoin's price recently stood at $82,939, down nearly 4% over a seven-day period, after surging to an eight-month high of $87,251 last week.

That surge prompted CryptoQuant to declare that bitcoin had entered a bull market. The basis for the call: the leading cryptocurrency crossed above its 365-day moving average — the "definitive technical signal" that has marked the start of Bitcoin's bull markets in past cycles, according to the firm. Moving averages smooth price data over a set window and are widely watched as gauges of longer-term trend direction, which is why such crossovers carry weight with analysts.

There is a caveat, however. Short-term traders — those who hold coins for one to three months — are sitting on an average unrealized profit of about 33%, CryptoQuant noted. That is the highest level since December 2024, and margins this elevated have historically tempted holders to sell. Unrealized profit measures the gap between the current price and the price at which those coins last changed hands, making it a common yardstick for how much selling pressure could build if holders lock in gains.

The report pointed to profit-taking already underway: holders last week realized 25.7K BTC in profit, the largest single day of 2026, one day after bitcoin's price smashed the eight-month high. Realized profit counts gains banked at the moment coins move on-chain.

CryptoQuant added that while bitcoin's price still has room to run, the rally is losing steam and a near-term correction looks increasingly likely.

The firm did not predict how far the price could fall, but it identified three support levels where a correction could find a floor: the 365-day moving average at about $80,000, the 200-day moving average at about $71,000, and traders' on-chain realized price at about $67,000. The last of these reflects the average price at which bitcoin last moved on-chain and is often read as a rough cost basis for the market. As long as these levels hold, CryptoQuant said, a pullback would amount to a healthy consolidation within a young bull rather than a trend reversal — making them the levels traders will be watching in the sessions ahead.

For context, Bitcoin notched a record of $126,080 in October of last year, but then began to sink later that month after the biggest liquidation event in crypto history saw over $19 billion in bets closed. The asset continued its plunge through the first half of this year as the Federal Reserve made clear it was in no hurry to lower interest rates and investors increasingly channeled money into artificial intelligence-related stocks in search of returns.

The so-called debasement trade — in which investors buy assets to hedge against a currency losing its value — has heated up again after total U.S. debt topped $40 trillion for the first time in July. Bitcoin and precious metals like gold have done well in the past when the dollar has weakened.

This article first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.