Bitcoin markets faced intense volatility amid an abrupt wave of long liquidations triggered by whale wallet activity and widespread profit-taking. The cascade began when a previously dormant whale transferred over 80,000 BTC, with 16,843 BTC traced directly to institutional trading desks.
This transferred volume accelerated selling pressure, causing Bitcoin’s price to tumble 4% beneath the $117,000 threshold to approximately $116,700. Market turbulence intensified as leveraged positions rapidly unwound, culminating in $141 million in Bitcoin long liquidations within 24 hours.
Hourly liquidations exposed severe market imbalance, with $2.75 million in long positions erased versus just $32,000 in shorts—an 8,593% disparity. Total crypto liquidations exceeded $460 million during the period as leveraged traders faced significant losses.
Simultaneously, investors captured $3.5 billion in realized profits, intensifying downward momentum. Long-term holders accounted for $1.96 billion of these gains while short-term holders contributed $1.54 billion. These coordinated actions highlighted leveraged traders’ acute vulnerability during abrupt market reversals.