Bitcoin is reeling again, this time under the weight of massive selling by long-time holders. Large investors, often called whales, have dumped around 400,000 Bitcoin, worth roughly $45 billion, over the past month. The steady sell-off has pushed the world’s biggest cryptocurrency below the $100,000 mark for the first time since June.
The latest decline marks a shift from last month’s volatility, which was triggered by forced liquidations in leveraged futures trades. This time, it’s the spot market, where investors actually hold and sell Bitcoin, driving prices lower.
Market moves and liquidations.
Bitcoin dropped as much as 7.4%, falling below the $100,000 mark, according to CoinMarketCap. It has since slightly recovered to around $102,031, but the token still remains down more than 20% from its record highs reached in October.
Data from CoinGlass shows that about $2 billion worth of crypto positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours. That’s modest compared with the $19 billion wiped out during the October 10 crash, when markets plunged after the U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 100% tariff on Chinese imports and tighter export controls on software.
Since then, futures activity has stayed muted, and traders are increasingly placing downside bets through put options targeting $80,000.
According to K33 Research, more than 319,000 previously dormant Bitcoins have recently been reactivated, mostly coins held for six to twelve months, suggesting that many holders are locking in profits after a strong rally since mid-July.
What history tells us
Analysts cited by Bloomberg say the bigger concern now is weakening conviction among long-time investors. Markus Thielen, head of 10x Research, noted that “mega whales,” wallets holding between 1,000 and 10,000 Bitcoin, began offloading large volumes earlier this year. That trend has intensified since the October crash, as more big holders continue to unload their positions.
Thielen believes the wave of selling could drag on for months, similar to the 2021–2022 bear market, when big investors offloaded over one million Bitcoin across the year.
During that period, Bitcoin fell sharply from its all-time high of around $68,000–$69,000 in November 2021 to roughly $15,000–$16,000 by late 2022, a drop of about 75%–78%. The crypto market’s total capitalization also fell from over $3 trillion to under $850 billion.
He doesn’t expect another major crash, but says prices may remain sluggish or slip further into next spring, possibly falling to around $85,000.
In short, Bitcoin’s latest slump isn’t being fueled by leveraged panic. It’s a slow, heavy unwind led by the biggest players cashing out, leaving the market struggling to find new buyers.
Also Read: Bitcoin Slides Down to $104K, Wipes Out $1.36B in Liquidations
