Bitcoin dropped sharply on Tuesday after a long-dormant Satoshi-era whale holding 80,000 BTC began transferring coins to exchanges, sparking a wave of selling pressure.
The move pushed BTC below $117,000, with traders taking profits following a record-setting rally that had recently lifted the cryptocurrency above $123,000.
The rally was fueled by optimism over potential U.S. digital asset legislation aligned with President Donald Trump’s crypto-friendly agenda.
However, momentum reversed as Lookonchain reported the whale had sold 16,843 BTC—worth more than $2 billion—via Galaxy Digital, which has been sending coins to Bybit and Binance.
Bitcoin declined as much as 4%, its steepest drop in over three weeks, and was last trading around $117,200. Ethereum fell 3%, while altcoins like XRP and Solana slid about 2% each.
Broader market sentiment weakened further amid fresh geopolitical tension, as Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Russia within 50 days unless the war in Ukraine ends.
ETF Flows Mixed Amid Volatility
In the ETF space, U.S.-listed crypto funds continued to attract investor interest. On July 14:
· Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a net inflow of $297.4 million
· Spot Ether ETFs recorded $259 million in inflows
· The newly launched staked Solana ETF posted zero flows
Institutional Moves & Altcoin Pressure
Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy added 4,225 BTC last week for $472.5 million, increasing its holdings to 601,550 BTC, acquired at an average price of $71,268 per coin (totaling $42.87 billion).
Meanwhile, Nasdaq-listed Sonnet BioTherapeutics announced a surprising pivot into crypto, forming an $888 million entity to manage a Hyperliquid (HYPE) digital asset treasury. Despite the news, HYPE fell 3.14% to trade near $48.29.
BitMine Immersion Technologies disclosed it now holds 163,142 ETH, worth approximately $500 million.
Across the altcoin space, names like Cardano (ADA), Stellar’s XLM, and BNB were all down 3–5% in Tuesday’s trading session.
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