The US-driven rally in April is losing steam. The Coinbase Premium, which measures the difference between the price of Bitcoin on Coinbase and offshore exchanges, has turned negative for the first time since early April, according to CryptoQuant data. This metric had been consistently 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. The premium peaked around April 22 and has been declining since.
As Coinbase is often used as a proxy for US institutional and dollar-denominated flows, a persistent negative reading suggests that American investors are either selling more aggressively or not participating as much. 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 are selling coins at a loss, with a total value of nearly $6 billion. According to CryptoQuant analyst Axel Adler Jr., these 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 re-entry point.
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 will be watching to see if the Realized Loss metric continues to decline as the underwater supply is cleared. 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.