Crypto News- Bitcoin enthusiasts were in for a rollercoaster ride as the cryptocurrency surged to new heights just shy of $69,000, only to plummet to around $63,100 shortly after. The sudden drop is attributed to the sale of a significant stash of decade-old bitcoins, worth a staggering $69 million, sent to Coinbase.
According to data from CryptoQuant, the movement of 1,000 bitcoins from an address dating back to 2010, right before Bitcoin hit its latest peak, sparked concerns of a market downturn. Analysts suspect miners, possibly those who mined Bitcoin’s early blocks, are finally cashing out their decade-old rewards.
Miners Reportedly Offload Decade-Old Bitcoin Valued at 69 Million Dollars
The influx of coins to exchanges typically signals an intention to sell, amplifying market volatility. The lack of liquidity further exacerbates the situation, with short-sellers waiting to pounce on any price dips.
“With the exchange order book showing limited liquidity for every price change, a sell-off of this magnitude was bound to trigger a significant downturn,” explained a CryptoQuant analyst in an interview with CoinDesk.
The massive sell-off led to widespread liquidations of leveraged long positions, with Binance alone recording over $1 billion in liquidations, as reported by trading firm QCP Group.
Despite the market turmoil, futures trading at a premium to spot prices remains enticing for investors, noted QCP analysts.
In parallel, spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced robust trading activity, reaching a combined volume of $10 billion on Tuesday. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas highlighted the ProShares Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF as the most traded, reflecting investors’ bearish sentiments on Bitcoin’s price.
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