Bitcoin reclaimed above $80,000 for the first time since February, climbing from ~$72,000 to a local peak of ~$82,790 (≈15% gain); current price ~ $80,287 (+0.8% 24h, +3% 7d). On-chain data shows Miner Reserves fell by ~3,400 BTC since April 7 as miners booked profits; this selling pressure could impede BTC’s recovery and presents short-term downside risk for crypto markets (miners, on-chain, selling pressure).

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The price of Bitcoin has been relatively stable since the start of April, showing strong efforts to reclaim former highs. In its latest recovery attempt, the premier cryptocurrency finally returned above $80,000 for the first time since early February.

Unsurprisingly, a relevant group of network participants, known as Bitcoin miners, appears to be taking advantage of the steady rise in BTC’s value over the past few weeks. Interestingly, a continuation of this profit-taking trend could pose an obstacle to the market leader’s recovery.

Miners’ Profit-Taking Could Halt BTC’s Recovery

In a May 8th post on the X platform, crypto analyst Ali Martinez shared that Bitcoin miners’ behavior has shifted in recent weeks. The latest on-chain data shows that this group of network participants has been booking profits, as the price of BTC steadily climbed to a local high.

Highlighting changes in the Miner Reserves metric, which measures the total Bitcoin held in miner-affiliated addresses, Martinez revealed that about 3,400 BTC have been sent from addresses associated with network validators since April 7. Interestingly, this period has coincided with the coin’s price rising from $72,000 to around $82,790, further supporting the profit-taking hypothesis.

The analyst wrote on X:

Back then, Bitcoin was trading near $72,000. Through the recent climb toward yesterday’s peak of $82,790, which represents a 15% price increase, miners have been steadily booking profits. On-chain data shows that miners have offloaded approximately 3,400 $BTC during this run, taking advantage of the recent price expansion to cover operational costs or lock in gains at multi-month highs.

Typically, falling Miner Reserves indicate that miners are distributing their coin to take profit, often to cover costs. As seen with several firms pivoting toward AI data centers, the profitability of the Bitcoin mining industry has been under significant pressure over the past few years.

More pertinently, the latest profit-taking and selling pressure can pose a threat to the ongoing recovery in Bitcoin’s price. The flagship cryptocurrency, which appears to have slowed down over the past day, would need uninterrupted bullish momentum to continue its current upside rally.

Bitcoin Price At A Glance

As of this writing, the price of BTC stands at around $80,287, reflecting a mere 0.8% leap in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, the market leader’s value has risen about 3% over the past seven days.