The upward momentum in April, driven by US investors, is losing steam. The Coinbase Premium, which measures the difference in price between 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. However, 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 paying less than the rest of the world, indicating either more aggressive selling or a lack of buying interest. On-chain data supports this narrative, with the 7-day sum of bitcoin realized losses spiking to $5.97 billion on April 24, as bitcoin traded near $78,000. This suggests that sellers who bought at higher prices, likely between $80,000 and $95,000 in late 2025 and early 2026, are using the recent bounce as an opportunity to exit.
The decline in the Coinbase Premium and the increase in realized losses indicate that US institutional buyers are slowing their purchases, 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 cleared. The reading has already decreased from its April 24 peak to $4.7 billion by April 28, suggesting that the seller cohort is diminishing.