US Bitcoin Selling Dominates Recent Market Decline

According to on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant, recent selling activity in the Bitcoin market has largely been driven by US investors.

Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Gap Indicates US Selling Pressure

In a post on X, CryptoQuant highlighted significant data regarding the US-led Bitcoin downturn. A key metric they focused on is the “Coinbase Premium Gap,” which measures the difference between Bitcoin prices on Coinbase (USD pair) and Binance (USDT pair).

The accompanying graph illustrates that this indicator’s 30-hour moving average has recently dipped into negative territory.

A negative Coinbase Premium Gap suggests that Bitcoin is trading for a lower price on Coinbase compared to Binance. Since Coinbase is favored by US investors—especially larger institutional ones—this decline indicates that US whales are offloading more Bitcoin than global investors.

CryptoQuant noted, “Coinbase’s premium gap has fallen to -$90, indicating strong selling pressure from the US.” They also pointed out another sign of unusual selling from US traders during the market’s recent downturn through cumulative returns from different trading sessions.

The graph further reveals that, over the past month, Bitcoin’s returns have been relatively stable during trading hours in Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions. Conversely, the US session has seen marked negative returns.

Another investment avenue for institutional investors is through spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which hold Bitcoin for investors, allowing them to gain exposure to the coin’s price movements without actually owning it.

Interestingly, these funds have also experienced outflows during this recent sell-off.

In fact, ETFs have seen net outflows for three consecutive weeks, a shift from the previous quarter when these funds recorded inflows of 194,000 BTC. To date, they’ve experienced outflows of around 8,000 BTC in Q4 2025. “ETF outflows continue to weigh on the BTC spot market,” CryptoQuant remarked.

Looking ahead, it’s noteworthy that the spot ETF has a cost basis of $86,566. If Bitcoin’s price falls below this threshold, it could wipe out the ETF’s holdings.

Current BTC Price

As things stand, Bitcoin is trading at approximately $92,000, having dropped more than 10% in the past week.