Bitcoin Price Plummets as Whales Flock to Ethereum

Why is Bitcoin Price Down from $117K?

After a brief rally above $117k, the Bitcoin price plummeted to a monthly low of $112k as large investors are flocking to Ethereum.

Though the Bitcoin price exhibited a notable rebound driven by Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s dovish approach to monetary policy, it was short-lived. Triggered by massive sell-offs and whale shifts, the BTC price saw a weekend plunge, leaving investors reeling.

Bitcoin Price Dips, Know Why

Aligning with the broader crypto market shift, Bitcoin has seen a notable dip, with its price hovering around $112,000. This marks the lowest price for the week, following a surge to a high of $117,000.

Notably, this downtrend is fuelled by a combination of factors. One of the major reasons for the trend is the changing investor sentiment. Over the past few days, there has been a growing shift in demand from BTC to ETH. For instance, Lookonchain data suggests that a dormant BTC whale activated their account after seven years. But the OG whale’s transaction involved swapping 100,784 coins to buy 62,914 ETH and establishing a 135,265 ETH derivatives long position. Institutional investors have also favored Ether instead of the pioneer cryptocurrency this month, which is evident from ETF inflows.

BTC Sell-Off Surges

In a recent X post, WhaleWire CEO Jacob King shed light on the massive crypto selloff that involved wallet address "19D5J…WoZ1C". The whale transferred several large batches of coins, valued between 3,000 and 6,000 BTC, to various addresses between August 16 and 24.

Significantly, this massive sale triggered a market downturn. King noted,

"Once the whale started selling, it triggered a panic cascade, with other traders selling too, amplifying the crash. Most of the money is being moved into Ethereum, $2B bought and $1.3B staked."

The latest liquidation data suggests that a large volume of the largest cryptocurrency has been wiped out over the last 24 hours. A wave of liquidations has swept through the market, sparking concerns about market stability.

Notably, the pioneer crypto has experienced a significant liquidation event, with around $300 million in closures in just one day. The majority of these liquidations, approximately $235.27 million, came from long positions, indicating their loss of confidence in the coin. This shift in sentiment and the massive liquidation have adversely impacted the Bitcoin price.