Bitcoin succumbed to selling pressure after several top whales sold assets worth about $4 billion over the weekend. The asset dropped into the $107,000 range, with one whale selling off 10,000 tokens recently. The BTC market had to absorb selling from several top whales.
The whales were able to find immediate demand for their coins, but the selling volumes pushed the price to around $107,000. Overall, whales continue their trend of net accumulation. However, in terms of short-term selling, especially from old and closely watched wallets, there is an ability to shake the market. Whales realized profits at the end of August and have been selling at a higher baseline in the past few months.
The Bitcoin market has seen previous distributions and profit-taking from whales. However, this time around, Bitcoin sales coincided with inflows into ETH, with one whale moving Bitcoin holdings from 2020 into Ether spot buying or derivative positions. The shift to weekend selling is also changing the market. During the summer bull rally, weekend traders usually achieved pumps and boosted Bitcoin near price records. Now, whales are showing signs of deliberately pressuring the Bitcoin price outside the busiest trading times.
Buyers absorb Bitcoin sales from whales amid shift to ETH purchases
The attention of the market was drawn to the behavior of one whale, who was a typical ‘weekend seller.’ He crashed the price during periods of relatively low liquidity. Identified in August, the ‘weekend seller’ whale chose a time when many traders were away, and mainstream futures markets were closed. The whale has now depleted all the balance from the selling wallet, removing one price pressure from the market.
While short-term spot selling can sway the price, on-chain data shows the selling is mostly a turnover between whale wallets, as accumulation continues. BTC is also changing hands, moving into the reserves of different entities. While overall retail and mid-range wallets are still holding, the recent price moves show that concentration in the hands of one entity can sway the market. A move of thousands of dollars can also produce significant liquidations, leading to additional alerts on deliberate liquidations.
Another whale with five-year-old holdings and an initial balance of $5.5B continued to send out BTC through Hyperunit. The whale is part of the trend where Hyperliquid took over a larger part of BTC and ETH activity. The whale continued to sell Bitcoin in the new week, shifting the funds into ETH derivative positions and spot buying.
Following its recent price moves, Bitcoin still traded above $108,000, while ETH is in the $4,300 range. As previously reported by Cryptopolitan, the same whale prepared to buy $1.1B in ETH in the past week, though it has not caused a new all-time high for the token. Unlike the smaller weekend seller wallet, this whale has a remaining balance and may continue to affect the market in the coming weeks.
Presently, the relative strength index (RSI) of Bitcoin is down to 37 points, from a peak above 76 points around mid-August. The coin is feeling pressure from anonymous whales with wallets aged 3-5 years, with some short-term buyers also seeking to sell during minor rallies. The Bitcoin fear and greed index is back in the ‘fear’ zone, meaning whales are less willing to take aggressive long positions in fear of liquidation. At the same time, the past month showed ongoing accumulation by big addresses, with a 45% rise in whale reserves.
