Bitcoin Shows Signs of Heavy US Selling Through a Negative Coinbase Premium

The Bitcoin Coinbase premium gap has dropped to -$57. Cryptoquant community analyst JA_Maartun first highlighted this on X, noting that it is a signal that US investors are selling the flagship asset.

The Coinbase premium gap tracks the Bitcoin price difference on Coinbase compared to other global exchanges, such as Binance. When in the positive. It is a sign that US holders are buying BTC.

JA_Maartun said:

“U.S. investors are hitting the sell button hard. The Coinbase Premium Gap is now at -$57—signaling aggressive selling pressure from American traders.”

Institutional Demand Softens For Bitcoin

It is unclear what is driving the end-of-the-year sell-off by US investors. However, that has not stopped speculations that the sell-off by US traders might be a strategic decision rather than a panicked sell-off.

As the year comes to a close, many believe the sell-off could be tax-driven. Still, it could be profit-taking and derisking moves as Bitcoin continues its volatile performance.

Whichever the reason, a pattern of slow demand has already emerged for Bitcoin. Cryptoquant analysts note that demand has now fallen below trend since early October. This follows three major demand waves between 2022 and 2025.

They wrote:

“After three major spot demand waves since 2023—driven by the US spot ETF launch, the US presidential election outcome, and the Bitcoin Treasury Companies bubble—demand growth has fallen below trend since early October 2025.”

The contracting demand is particularly evident among institutional holders.  For instance, US Spot Bitcoin ETFs have net sellers in the current quarter, with their holdings already falling by 24,000 BTC.

Bitcoin treasury companies and addresses holding 100-1,000 BTC have also experienced lower growth rates. All these signals demand deterioration, a feature that has preceded previous bear markets, including that of 2022.

Bitcoin Sees Increasing Price Volatility

Meanwhile, the shrinking demand has led analysts to conclude that there might be no more incremental demand in this cycle. This spells danger for the Bitcoin price, with demand being one of the pillars supporting current prices.

Interestingly, the shrinking demand has also coincided with increased price volatility. Since hitting its peak in mid-October, Bitcoin has lost around 30% of its value.

However, what is more interesting is how the flagship asset has fluctuated in the $80,000 – $90,000 range for the past few weeks. Today alone. Bitcoin as low as $84,500 while also going as high as $89,300.

This volatility has resulted in $273.8 million in liquidations. As for what could be causing it, experts believe the crypto market is now in its slowdown phase, and liquidity has dropped.

XWIN Research observed a few days ago that liquidity is starting to dry up, onchain activity is also weakening, and short-term speculation is waning. The team noted that price action in such an environment is more volatile because of the thin liquidity.

However, they noted that it is at this moment that panic selling gets exhausted and new turning points start to form.