The US-driven momentum that fueled April's price surge is losing steam. The Coinbase Premium, which measures the difference in bitcoin prices between Coinbase and offshore exchanges, has turned negative for the first time since early April, according to CryptoQuant data. This metric had consistently been positive from April 8 to April 22, during which time bitcoin's price rose from $66,000 to nearly $78,000.
The premium peaked around April 22 and has been declining since. As Coinbase is often used as a proxy for US institutional investment and dollar-denominated flows, a persistent negative reading suggests that American investors are either selling more aggressively or not participating as much in the market.
On-chain data reinforces this narrative, with the 7-day sum of bitcoin realized losses spiking to $5.97 billion on April 24, when bitcoin was trading near $78,000. This indicates that holders are selling coins at a loss, with the total value of these losses reaching nearly $6 billion.
According to CryptoQuant analyst Axel Adler Jr., the sellers likely bought bitcoin between $80,000 and $95,000 in late 2025 and early 2026, and are now using the April bounce as an exit opportunity rather than a chance to reenter the market. The combination of these two datasets suggests that US institutional buyers are slowing their purchases through Coinbase, while holders are increasing their selling activity. Bitcoin was recently trading around $76,000. Going forward, traders will be watching to see if the Realized Loss metric continues to decline as the supply of underwater coins is worked through.
The reading has already decreased from its April 24 peak to $4.7 billion by April 28, indicating that the seller cohort may be dwindling.