Bitcoin Crash Below $100,000: Crypto Whales Liquidate Bets Worth $45 Billion

Bitcoin has once again suffered a significant price decline, but this time the market volatility appears disconnected from the excessive leverage often blamed for sharp crypto corrections. The world’s oldest cryptocurrency dropped by as much as 7.4% on Tuesday, breaching the $100,000 mark for the first time since June. This decline places Bitcoin more than 20% below the record high it achieved just a month ago. While Bitcoin managed a slight recovery in Asian trading on Wednesday morning, the current dip is structurally different from the chain reactions that triggered the October crash; this decline is primarily driven by continuous spot market selling, marking a clear shift from the usual pattern where steep moves were typically a consequence of sudden liquidations in the futures markets, reports newstoday24.de with reference to Bloomberg.

The Current Market Driver: Spot Selling Takes Over

The core reason behind the sustained price weakness is a widespread and systematic selling effort by long-term holders, rather than forced liquidations from leveraged traders. Markus Thielen, the head of 10x Research, highlighted the scale of this activity, stating that long-time Bitcoin owners have sold approximately 400,000 Bitcoins over the past four weeks. This massive outflow represents about $45 billion in value and has effectively destabilized the market equilibrium.

Analysis from the market observer CoinGlass shows that forced selling remains moderate. Only about $2 billion in crypto positions were liquidated over the last 24 hours. This volume is minor when juxtaposed against the colossal $19 billion in liquidations that occurred during the sharp crash the previous month, further supporting the theory that forced deleveraging is not the primary factor.

Shifting Investor Conviction and Outflow Analysis

Market attention has shifted away from futures open interest—which remains subdued—and toward the behavior of long-term investors. Data indicates that conviction among established holders is waning, pushing prices down through consistent selling pressure.

Vetle Lunde, Head of Analysis at K33, elaborated on the outflows, explaining that over 319,000 Bitcoins have been “reawakened” in the past month. The majority of these coins were held for periods ranging between six and twelve months, strongly suggesting significant profit-taking has been underway since mid-July. Although internal transfers account for some of this reawakening activity, Lunde asserted that a substantial portion reflects actual sales into the market.

While the October crash was fundamentally characterized by coerced selling, the current movement reveals a more concerning psychological factor: diminishing belief. According to Thielen, a growing imbalance between established sellers and new buyers is now the dominant force directing market sentiment and price action.

Forward Outlook: Warnings of a Prolonged Downtrend

Looking ahead, Thielen issued a stark warning that the current selling wave could potentially extend well into next spring. He drew a comparison to the bear market witnessed between 2021 and 2022, during which major investors offloaded more than one million Bitcoins over the course of nearly a year. Thielen speculated that this scale of selling could potentially be replicated. He concluded that, if this trend develops at a similar pace, the market correction "could continue for another six months."

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