Bitcoin slipped over the weekend after a brief rally, weighed down by whale selling, miner activity, and a wider market downturn. By early Sunday, the price had fallen 2.12% to $112,692, with a low near $112,500.
It’s now hovering around $112,755, down about 2% in the past day. Its market cap stands at $2.24 trillion, while trading volume jumped 41% in 24 hours to $73.46 billion.
The drop came just two days after bitcoin crossed $117,000 on Friday, lifted by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks at Jackson Hole. Powell signaled the possibility of a rate cut in September, sparking a short rally before selling pressure returned.
Nick Ruck, director at LVRG Research, said the retreat shows a “market recalibration,” with ongoing uncertainties overshadowing Powell’s dovish stance.
Whale-driven selling and Ethereum shift
Much of the pressure came from a large whale offloading over 24,000 BTC between August 16 and 24, according to posts circulating on X. The bitcoin was moved in tranches of 3,000 to 6,000 BTC, which triggered a wave of panic selling.
WhaleWire CEO Jacob King said the activity caused a cascade effect as other traders rushed to exit. He noted that a large share of the funds flowed into Ethereum, with around $2 billion purchased and $1.3 billion staked.
Data from Lookonchain also showed that a whale wallet rotated part of its 100,784 BTC into 62,914 ETH and opened a 135,265 ETH derivatives long position. Institutional flows mirrored this shift, as ether ETFs attracted stronger inflows compared to bitcoin ETFs through August.
Ethereum is currently trading at $4,712, after touching a record high above $4,946 last Friday. Bitcoin dominance has dropped to 57.94% from 61% at the start of the month, underscoring a growing tilt toward altcoins.
Liquidations and support levels
Over the last 24 hours, the market saw $667.49 million in liquidations, with $507.36 million coming from long positions and $160.14 million from short positions, as per data from Coinglass. Bitcoin accounted for $238.14 million of that total, including $226 million in long bets and $11.88 million in shorts.
Miners added extra weight to the sell-off by dumping $237 million in bitcoin, the most they’ve sold since December 2024.
Analysts say the next big safety net for the market sits between $104,000 and $108,000, a range where more than 1.15 million bitcoin were bought over the past year. They believe this zone could help stabilize prices if the slide continues.
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