Bitcoin Prices Shaken by Big Whale Moves
Bitcoin prices dropped sharply this week after big moves from early investors, often called “whales.”
Old Whales in Control
Crypto analyst Willy Woo explained that many of these whales bought Bitcoin back in 2011 when the price was only around $10. Today, it takes more than $110,000 of new money to balance out each Bitcoin they decide to sell. This makes it harder for Bitcoin’s price to rise quickly, even as interest in the market grows.
One major whale reportedly sold some Bitcoin and moved into Ether (ETH), which triggered a fast sell-off. This wiped out about $45 billion from Bitcoin’s market value in a short time.
Flash Crash
The price of Bitcoin fell from $114,500 to $112,980 in just nine minutes, briefly touching $112,050 before recovering part of the loss. Ether also dropped about 3.8% during the same time.
Whale Transfers
Blockchain data showed around 24,000 BTC (about $2.7 billion) was moved to the trading platform Hyperliquid starting August 16. Out of that, over 18,000 BTC were sold, and much of the money was rotated into 416,590 ETH. Around 275,500 ETH (worth $1.3 billion) was staked.
The whale also opened large leveraged trades, taking a long position on 135,260 ETH, creating exposure worth over $2.6 billion. This strategy reportedly made about $185 million in profit.
Market Impact
This whale still holds about 152,874 BTC, which originally left exchanges around six years ago. Analysts say two big forces are moving the market:
- Old investors holding massive profits.
- Whales making huge trades to capture short-term gains.
If more of the whale’s Bitcoin is sold, the market could face more pressure. However, the large amount of ETH being staked suggests some whales are also planning for the long term.
