Bitcoin (BTC) sell-side risk has returned to near-historic lows as profit-taking following August’s rally has cooled, according to new data from crypto analytics platform Glassnode.

Glassnode’s sell-side risk ratio (SSRR) fell to 7 this month from 16 in September, placing the metric among its lowest readings on record. Selling pressure has eased while Bitcoin has retained most of its 25% August gains.

Glassnode says Bitcoin hodlers are “selling less”

In the latest edition of Glassnode’s The Week Onchain newsletter, the firm said the SSRR had reset lower. The metric adds together realized onchain profits and losses and divides the result by Bitcoin’s realized market capitalization. It therefore measures the US dollar value realized over a given period relative to realized cap.

Glassnode describes lower SSRR readings as signals associated with “macro market bottoms, accumulation phases and relatively low sell-side risk environments.”

The ratio reached 16 when Bitcoin traded above $80,000 and hit multimonth highs in late August. By this week, however, it had more than halved to 7, making it one of the lowest readings on record. Glassnode said the August rebound had “drawn little supply,” based on onchain activity.

“At the July 2025 and October 2025 highs the same measure spiked to 35 and 23 basis points. Only a small share of days in the past year have run lower than today,” Glassnode noted.

The data also indicates that long-term holders are realizing profits onchain at a slower pace this month. Glassnode defines long-term holders as wallet entities that hold a UTXO without spending it for at least six months.

“Long-term holders’ share of realized profit has fallen to 47% from 88% at the August peak, and September’s realized profit spike on September 3, 2026 was under half the size of August’s,” the firm said.

“The sellers this month are recent buyers, and even they are selling less.”

Bitcoin ETF investors watch $86,000 breakeven level

The subdued SSRR reading may reduce concerns that a modest Bitcoin price correction could prompt widespread panic selling. After Bitcoin reclaimed $80,000, investor cohorts returned to aggregate profit, potentially increasing the incentive to sell if the price retreats further.

As Cointelegraph reported, the spent output profit ratio (SOPR) has remained in net profit for its longest stretch of 2026. SOPR measures the net profitability of spent coins, with a reading of 1 representing breakeven. Sustained readings above 1 can support a bullish long-term trend change.

Glassnode also said that US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) investors would return to aggregate profit at $86,000. Bitcoin has closed below that level for 229 consecutive sessions, while ETF investors’ current paper losses stand at approximately $3.9 billion.

The SSRR and the $86,000 ETF level therefore track different parts of the market: realized onchain selling activity and the aggregate paper-profit threshold for US spot ETF investors.

Source: Cointelegraph