Bitcoin has entered the early stages of a new bull market after a 24% rally pushed key onchain and demand indicators into bullish territory, according to CryptoQuant.
Bull Score Surges to Highest Level Since October 2025
CryptoQuant’s Bull Score jumped to 80 from 30 over the past week, reaching its highest reading since October 2025. Eight of the index’s 10 underlying indicators are now flashing bullish, the analytics firm said.
Bitcoin climbed above $80,000 during the rally, but CryptoQuant said a weekly close above its 365-day moving average, currently sitting near $83,000, is required to confirm a definitive shift into a new bull market cycle.
The move has been supported by accelerating spot demand. Spot and futures demand are growing together for the first time since early October 2025, according to CryptoQuant.
$83K to $100K: The Road Ahead
LMAX Group market strategist Joel Kruger pointed to the May 2026 high of $82,820 as the next critical level for Bitcoin to clear. ‘A clear break above that level would reinforce the view that a meaningful cycle low is now in place and shift attention towards the next major move through $100,000 and, ultimately, the 2025 record high,’ Kruger said.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading around $79,000, according to CoinGecko data.
Whales Take Profits as Rally Heats Up
Despite the bullish signals, CryptoQuant warned that the rally may be overheated in the short term, pointing to rising trader profits, heavy profit-taking by whales and a spike in Bitcoin deposits to exchanges.
Traders’ unrealized profit margins climbed to 20.5%, the highest level since June 2025. CryptoQuant noted that Bitcoin fell approximately 30% after this metric reached 19% in early May, when BTC was trading near $82,000.
Short-term holder whales realized approximately $1.2 billion in profits between August 20 and August 22, including a single-day record of $614 million on August 20, as Bitcoin traded near $78,000 to $79,000. Bitcoin exchange inflows also climbed to approximately 53,000 BTC, the highest level since June, signaling that more coins were moving onto trading platforms where they could be sold.
The combination of surging unrealized profits, heavy whale selling, and elevated exchange inflows raises the probability of near-term turbulence even as the broader trend structure shifts bullish.
