The US-driven momentum that fueled Bitcoin's April rally is dissipating. The Coinbase Premium, which measures the difference between Bitcoin's price on 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 a local high of nearly $78,000. However, the premium peaked around April 22 and has since declined.
As Coinbase is often used as a proxy for US institutional and dollar-denominated flows, a persistent negative reading suggests that American investors are now paying less than the rest of the world, either due to more aggressive selling or a lack of buying activity. On-chain data supports this narrative, with the 7-day sum of Bitcoin Realized Loss spiking to $5.97 billion on April 24 as Bitcoin traded near $78,000.
This indicates that holders sold coins at a loss, with the total dollar value of these losses reaching nearly $6 billion. According to CryptoQuant analyst Axel Adler Jr., the sellers likely bought their coins at higher prices between $80,000 and $95,000 in late 2025 and early 2026, using the April bounce as an opportunity to exit rather than re-enter 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.
With Bitcoin recently trading around $76,000, traders are watching to see if the Realized Loss metric will continue 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.