Major BTC holder starts selling at $116,000
According to Lookonchain, one of the largest BTC holders started reducing positions at around $116,000. The whale’s sales came as Bitcoin’s hashrate and mining difficulty hit all-time highs and U.S. spot ETFs saw their biggest inflows in months.
An address classified as a “whale” transferred 35,900 BTC (about $4B) in several tranches to exchange wallets. Analysts link this to profit-taking after a rally in which BTC gained more than 35% over the past two months.
Despite the sales, whale balances remain near yearly highs. CryptoQuant data shows combined reserves of miners and long-term holders exceed 1.8M BTC, underscoring continued accumulation. Previously, we reported that shark wallets hold 18% of all circulating BTC.
If whales were to unload their holdings en masse, it would be an early warning sign for the market. Even sales in the hundreds of thousands of BTC could sharply increase selling pressure and break key support levels. Given Bitcoin’s large share (over 6% of total supply) in ETFs and institutional portfolios, such a scenario could trigger a chain reaction — falling prices would accelerate profit-taking by traders and deepen the decline.
The start of selling may be tied to surging inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs, which attracted $2.34B in the week ending Sept. 12. With institutions active, some large holders may have opted to cash in on heightened demand.
At publication time, BTC traded around $116,300 with a market cap above $2.3T. The $115K–$117K range is seen as a resistance zone where sellers have previously been active.
Thus, while sales by a major holder point to localized profit-taking, overall network fundamentals and sustained institutional interest keep the market backdrop positive.
If whales were to unload their holdings en masse, it would be an early warning sign for the market. Even sales in the hundreds of thousands of BTC could sharply increase selling pressure and break key support levels. Given Bitcoin’s large share (over 6% of total supply) in ETFs and institutional portfolios, such a scenario could trigger a chain reaction — falling prices would accelerate profit-taking by traders and deepen the decline.
The start of selling may be tied to surging inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs, which attracted $2.34B in the week ending Sept. 12. With institutions active, some large holders may have opted to cash in on heightened demand.
At publication time, BTC traded around $116,300 with a market cap above $2.3T. The $115K–$117K range is seen as a resistance zone where sellers have previously been active.
Thus, while sales by a major holder point to localized profit-taking, overall network fundamentals and sustained institutional interest keep the market backdrop positive.
Recommended