Bitcoin tumbles as whale sells 3,500 BTC, $310 million liquidated in 24 hours

Bitcoin continues to experience significant volatility, extending a downward trend that began last month.

According to CryptoSlate’s data, Bitcoin’s price has dropped approximately 6% in the past 24 hours, breaking the $58,000 mark to fall to as low as $56,900.

Market observers warned that if the heavy selling action continues, this decline could be a precursor to a decline in the flagship digital asset’s price to the low $50,000s. Earlier today, blockchain analyst Lookonchain identified a whale that sold 3,500 BTC for $206 million in five hours through the Binance exchange.

Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, noted that buying activity has dwindled as selling pressures increase. He noted that Bitcoin broke crucial technical and psychological levels at $60,000, a key point for miners and Spot ETF buyers. Notably, this marks the bottom of its three-month trading range.

Thielen added:

“Price declines could accelerate as support gets broken and sellers scramble to find liquidity. Only ill-informed traders are willing to buy here. Breaking this support could cause a sharp decline to the low $50,000s.”

Some observers attribute the price drop to low market liquidity and concerns over the impending Mt. Gox BTC payout, which will distribute about $9 billion worth of Bitcoin to creditors. Further, crypto exchange BloFin also issued a research note warning of high downside risk for Bitcoin, mainly if an unexpected event occurs.

$310 million liquidated

Bitcoin’s decline has led to substantial losses for crypto traders speculating on market movements.

According to Coinglass data, over 110,000 traders lost about $310 million in the last 24 hours, most of which stemmed from long traders.

Bitcoin traders bore the brunt, incurring $94 million in losses—$82 million from long trades and $12 million from short trades. Ethereum was not far behind, with liquidations reaching around $72 million.

The largest single liquidation took place on HTX (formerly Huobi), involving a $10 million long position on the top crypto asset.

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