Bitcoin slides to $107K as whales offload $4B over weekend

BTC fell to selling pressure, after several high-profile whales realized as much as $4B in sales over the weekend. BTC slid to the $107,000 range, with one whale shedding 10K coins recently. 

The BTC market had to absorb selling from several high-profile whales. The whales still found immediate demand for their coins, but the selling volumes pressured the price to the $107,000 range. 

Overall, whales are still holding up the trend of net accumulation. However, short-term selling, especially from old and closely watched wallets, still has the 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. 

BTC whales realized profits at a higher baseline, with significant selling as of August 25. | Source: Whale Alert.

The Bitcoin market has seen previous distributions and profit-taking from whales. This time around, BTC selling coincides with inflows into ETH, with one whale strategically 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 absorbed 34,000 BTC from one whale

One whale’s behavior drew attention for being a ‘weekend seller’, crashing 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 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 causing deliberate liquidations. 

ETH-buying whale continues to shift from BTC

A relatively old 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 the latest price moves, Bitcoin still recovered above $108,000, while ETH is in the $4,300 range. As Cryptopolitan reported, the same whale prepared to buy $1.1B in ETH in the past week, though still not causing a new all-time high for the token. Unlike the smaller weekend seller wallet, this whale has remaining balance and may continue to affect the market in the coming weeks.

At this stage, the BTC relative strength index (RSI) is down to 37 points, from a recent peak above 76 points in 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 fears of liquidation. 

At the same time, the past month showed ongoing accumulation by big addresses, with a 45% rise in whale reserves. 

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