The global digital assets market printed red indexes all around as Bitcoin (BTC) dipped below the $61,000 mark after struggling with the high selling pressure.

Reports suggest seized crypto linked to the notorious PlusToken Ponzi scheme were moved to exchanges, sparking fears of potential selling pressure. However, some Bitcoin whales were caught on-chain dumping their funds at a loss amid the heavy BTC price dip.

The market sentiment turned to dread as the Fear and Greed Index moved back into the “fear” territory, falling back from “neutral”. The cumulative crypto market cap dropped by more than 2% in the last 24 hours to stand at $2.12 trillion. Its 24 hour trading volume declined by 5% to stand at $66.47 billion.

Whales take $50M hit

As per the data shared by SpotOnChain, an entity made up of 4 fresh whale wallets has deposited 1,500 Bitcoin (approximately worth $91.1 million) in the centralized exchanges in the last 30 hours. These wallets had accumulated 8,510 BTC from Bitfinex back in June and August.

These whales have accumulated Bitcoin at an average price of $64,434, however, their dumping price stands at $61,965, which is way below the purchasing price.

The entity of 4 fresh whales that withdrew 8,510 $BTC from Bitfinex in June and August has deposited 1,500 $BTC ($92.95M) back to the CEX in the last 30 hours!

Their average accumulating price was $64,434, but their unloading price is only $61,965. At current prices, the whales… https://t.co/oUBqVuIAs6 pic.twitter.com/znpKQrKwri

— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) October 10, 2024

Bitcoin price dropped by over 2.6% in the last 24 hours, vanishing all the gains recorded in the last 7 days. BTC is trading at an average price of $60,847 with a trading volume of $27.7 billion.

These whales are now facing a loss of more than $50 million from the average purchasing price. Meanwhile, they are still holding 7,010 Bitcoin (approximately worth $426 million) left in their tank. It seems like these whales might be panicking a bit amid the recent price drop.

Ancient whales are still sleeping

Ki Young Ju, CryptoQuant founder, in an X post, mentioned that ancient Bitcoin whales are still sleeping while new players are moving their holding. He added that moving BTC dormant for over 7 years has triggered market volatility in the past but it also depends on source and destination.

The CryptoQuant founder suggests that a cohort of Bitcoin holders are not sending their coins to crypto exchanges which might be an indication of a potential sell-off ahead.

Ancient #Bitcoin whales are still sleeping.

Moving bitcoins dormant for 7+ years has historically triggered market volatility, depending on source and destination. (Mt. Gox excluded in this chart)

If you were an ancient whale, what would you do now? pic.twitter.com/uF0RhZiVNn

— Ki Young Ju (@ki_young_ju) October 9, 2024

Coinglass data depicts that Bitcoin bulls were hurt the most as BTC dropped to the $60K zone. More than $42 million worth of long and short positions were liquidated in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, $40 million worth of liquidated bets (94%) turned out to be long bets set by the traders, expecting a continuous upward run.