Veteran Whales Blamed For Bitcoin’s Sharp Slide, Crypto Boss Says

It has been a tough week for the alpha dog of crypto and analysts aren’t so sure when the beating will stop. Bitcoin hovered a little over $90,000 on Wednesday while Ethereum traded around $3,041, showing sharp moves after a rough week. Over the past seven days, Bitcoin fell more than 12% and Ethereum dropped about 11%, according to market updates. Traders and analysts say the swings reflect both on-chain activity and wider macro pressure. Long-Term Holders Rotate According to CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju, much of the recent price action reflects long-term holders moving coins between each other and into new hands. He said older Bitcoin holders have been selling into buyers from traditional finance, including spot ETF vehicles and corporate treasuries, which then hold the assets for a long period. Earlier this year he flagged heavy selling by OG whales when prices peaked, but he now points to fresh liquidity from different institutional sources that are changing how supply is absorbed. Some On-Chain Signals Point To Normal Correction On-chain metrics suggest the drop may be a mid-cycle correction rather than a full market reversal. Reports show short-term holders were panic selling and reducing exposure, while long-term holders performed routine profit-taking. Analysts note that newer buyers continued to add funds during the slide, but inflows were not large enough to offset the wave of selling from nervous short-term traders. Bitcoin’s pullback from highs near $126K is cited as part of this rebalancing. Based on reports, more than $1 trillion was wiped off the broader crypto market over six weeks, and the total market cap has fallen by a quarter since an early October high. Tracking more than 18,500 coins, CoinGecko data shows the sector’s value slid sharply, with Bitcoin down about 25% over that period to roughly $91,200 at one point. Trading flows have thinned, and many market participants say both retail and institutional conviction weakened as prices tumbled. Large Buyers See Discounts JAN3 CEO Samson Mow told reporters that some buyers are largely price-insensitive and can use dips to increase holdings. He named examples like Strategy and other firms with big treasury budgets, and he pointed to stablecoin issuers and high-revenue companies that can add to positions. At about $95k, Mow suggested Bitcoin may look like a near 20% “discount” for those buyers, making accumulation more attractive while supply remains limited. Caught Between Chain Signals And Macro Risk Meanwhile, analysts at Nansen and others say Bitcoin now behaves more like a macro asset, moving with liquidity, the dollar, and policy cues. Traders have also mentioned forced selling and tightened risk appetite after global events pushed sentiment lower in early October. Political backing increased under US President Donald Trump earlier this year, and Wall Street’s adoption via spot ETFs helped, but those supports have not prevented the recent pullback. Featured image from Wikipedia, chart from TradingView