Ethereum [ETH] holders are riding near-record profits right now. And yet, it would seem that there’s no stopping it in the short-term. According to on-chain data, the altcoin’s rally could push even higher, before cooling down eventually.

Short-term traders are cashing out faster than at any point in the past year, but without tipping the market into exhaustion.

Nearly every ETH holder is in profit!

With 97% of Ethereum addresses currently in profit, you’d expect the market to be approaching exhaustion.

However, data from Sentora underlined almost universal gains among holders. This, while Glassnode’s MVRV Extreme Values indicator remained well below the overheated red zone that has historically marked cycle tops.

Hovering near the 2.0-level, the MVRV still has space before hitting past peaks above 3.0-3.2. These levels were last seen during euphoric phases in 2017, 2021, and late 2023.

Hence, it can be argued that the market may be in an early to mid-stage profit realization cycle, rather than a final blow-off top.

As crypto analyst Ali Martinez noted, the setup might point to more upside potential. Especially if profit-taking by short-term holders is absorbed by sustained demand.

STHs lead Ethereum’s profit surge

Ethereum’s latest profit wave has been driven disproportionately by short-term investors.

In fact, Glassnode data showed that ETH’s 7-day SMA Realized Profits hit $771 million per day in July, surpassing December 2024’s highs. This was the case before it eased slightly to $553 million this month.

Long-term holder profits have been in line with December’s peak too. Here, it’s worth pointing out that the recent acceleration came from addresses holding ETH for less than six months.

What this implied is that fast-moving traders have been capitalizing on price strength more aggressively than in previous cycles.

However, this has been so without triggering the kind of profit saturation that usually precedes major market tops.

The ongoing rotation from long-term stability to short-term cash-outs is a sign that this is a rally fueled by active turnover, rather than exhaustion. This leaves room for further price expansion if demand holds.