Bitcoin Price Falls—Here’s Who Is Selling Bitcoin and Why

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Bitcoin has experienced a significant sell-off recently, driven by growing macroeconomic uncertainty and fears of a trade war sparked by Trump-era tariffs. But who is selling? Are institutions offloading their holdings, or is the pressure coming from retail investors and mid-sized traders? Let’s find out.

It’s Not the Whales!

According to @Crazzyblockk, an analyst featured by Cryptoquant, the recent Bitcoin sell-off is not driven by whales or long-term holders. Instead, the selling is mostly by small to mid-sized traders (called shrimps to sharks) and people who have held Bitcoin for a shorter period, who are behind the market pressure. Notably, the kind of selling is common during highly volatile times and is known as a “shakeout”, where weaker players panic and sell, often before a price rebound.

Data from Cryptoquant shows that over the past 15 days, short-term Bitcoin holders have been sending around 930 BTC per day to exchanges, that is nearly double the 529 BTC per day moved by long-term holders. This suggests that the recent sell pressure is driven by short-term fear or profit-taking, while the long term whales’ conviction remains intact. 

Classifying on the basis of wallet cohort, the biggest selling pressure was from smaller holders as Shrimps, which hold under 1 BTC, offloaded 480 Bitcoins per day, followed by sharks which hold 100-1000 BTC, which sold 402 BTC per day and Fishes that hold 10-100 BTC sold 341 Bitcoins per day. However, whales that hold over 1,000 BTC sold only 70 BTC per day, which indicates that bigger players are likely holding steady.

With the market moving sideways and volatility shrinking, Bitcoin’s recent price dip is not a panic sell by long-term investors. It’s mostly the mid-sized holders panicking the most and exiting, This indicates continued confidence from long-term holders.

Analyst Ali Martinez, in a recent X post, has shared Bitcoin’s market sentiment by illustrating the distribution of investor profitability. The Chart represents the volume of Bitcoin held by addresses that are currently “in the money” (profitable), “out of the money” (at a loss), and “at the money” (around their purchase price). 

Notably, over 35% of the addresses holding 1.27 million BTC are profitable, which were bought at lower prices. While over 60% of the addresses holding 2.26 million BTC are at a loss.

Bitcoin Stuck Between Two Key Levels

The analyst has pointed out that Bitcoin is stuck between two key price levels: $81,440 and $86,430. These levels are where selling usually happens, making it hard for the price to go higher. Bitcoin is trapped in this range, and traders are watching to see if it will break above $86,430, indicating a potential rally or drop below $81,440, which could lead to a possible downturn.

Bitcoin Drops After Powell’s Inflation Warning

A possible Bitcoin rally quickly reversed its course after Fed Chairs Jerome Powell warned that Trump tariffs could lead to higher inflation and slower growth. His comment startled the markets as BTC quickly dropped 2.5%, now trading around $84,761.