What happened
Bitcoin’s weekend sell-off accelerated into Monday trade, with prices briefly dipping under $111,000 before stabilizing in the low-$112Ks. The move followed a large whale unloading roughly 24,000 BTC (over $300 million at the time), which hit thin liquidity and triggered a cascade of forced unwinds. Total crypto liquidations topped $550 million over the past day, according to CoinDesk’s market desk.
On-chain sleuths told CoinDesk the selling wallet had ties to HTX funds dormant for ~six years, with 12,000 BTCtransferred on Sunday alone. That flow erased gains logged after Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole remarks and pushed BTC to lows below $111,000 before a modest bounce.
The bout of volatility comes just days after BTC set a fresh 2025 peak near $124,290 (Aug. 14). Ahead of Powell’s speech, traders had already been taking profits and positioning defensively—one reason the market was vulnerable to a sharp, flow-driven downdraft.
Why whale activity mattered this time
Whale deposits to exchanges tend to precede supply hitting order books. CryptoQuant researchers flagged a summer pickup in whale and miner transfers to exchanges as BTC pressed new highs—classic “distribution risk” that can amplify downside when liquidity thins. The weekend dump fit that pattern: a single seller, large clip sizes, and a market already leaning cautious.
Options data also reflect nerves. Deribit risk-reversals (25-delta) remain negative through year-end, signaling that puts cost more than calls as traders hedge against further drawdowns—a setup CoinDesk highlighted alongside the flash crash headlines.
The macro backdrop
Macro didn’t help. Powell’s Jackson Hole speech was interpreted as dovish-leaning but non-committal, and positioning into the event had skewed cautious. Investopedia noted BTC had already slipped ~10% from its Aug. 14 peak ahead of the speech, with flow indicators such as the Coinbase–Binance spread hinting at strong U.S. spot selling. When the whale hit, follow-through arrived quickly.
Market takeaways
1) Liquidity gaps cut both ways. Summer books are thinner; large market sells can “gap” price and mechanically trigger stops. The magnitude of Sunday’s move was less about a change in fundamentals and more about where size met liquidity. CoinDesk’s liquidation tallies underscore how leverage accelerates that process.
2) The “whale supply” theme isn’t new. Quant shops have spent July–August documenting higher exchange inflows from whales and miners—fuel for pullbacks when risk appetite wobbles. If those flows persist, bounces can be sold until the supply dries up.
3) Options hedging remains elevated. With risk-reversals negative, rallies may meet structured selling from desks long volatility protection, keeping tops choppy until hedge demand eases.
Levels & scenarios to watch
- $111K–$113K: Weekend low and immediate bounce area. Lose it cleanly, and the market likely re-tests the round-number magnet at $110K and prior liquidity pockets just below.
- $116K–$117K: Post-Powell spike zone; reclaiming and holding above would signal dip-buyers back in charge.
- Macro calendar: The market remains sensitive to rate-cut odds and dollar moves into September; traders were already positioned for Powell to be less supportive than hoped.
What it means for investors
Short-term, flow dominates. When a single wallet can clip tens of thousands of BTC into a thin tape, price discovery becomes mechanical, and leverage gets cleared fast. If you’re trading the volatility:
- Watch exchange whale inflows and derivatives positioning; both have been reliable early warnings this month.
- Respect liquidity pockets around key round numbers ($110K/$115K) and don’t ignore options cues (persistent put skew).
Medium-term, the secular backdrop didn’t change in a day. As Investopedia noted last week, many macro strategists still characterize BTC’s cycle as intact, even while acknowledging the market hadn’t seen a deep reset in some time—making episodes like this more likely.