Bitcoin (BTC) has weathered significant selling pressure this week, with over 40,000 BTC flooding exchanges alongside reactivations of decade-old wallets, yet maintained support above $110,000. The sell-off included 3,900 BTC moved from dormant addresses—the second major ancient wallet activity this month after 80,000 BTC was transferred on July 4.
Concurrently, derivatives markets revealed a tense equilibrium: Funding Rates on Binance, OKX, and Bybit remained neutral to mildly positive, signaling balanced leverage and no forced liquidations. However, Open Interest (OI) spiked dramatically, led by Bybit's $1.52 billion surge in 24 hours—a platform record. This divergence from typical OI/price correlation hints at aggressive short positioning or volatility bets.
Parallel liquidations totaling $144.8 million ($128.77 million in longs) triggered a 5.8% BTC pullback from its July 14 all-time high of $123,471, breaching key supports at $117K and $116K. Daily trading volume jumped 24.6%, confirming intensified selling. Contributing factors included geopolitical tensions from the Thailand-Cambodia border conflict and spot Bitcoin ETF outflows from July 21-23. Notably, ETF flows reversed with $226 million inflows on July 24 despite ongoing price declines.
Analysts emphasize this consolidation aligns with historical bull-market corrections (typically 20-30%), viewing the $111K-$112K zone as critical demand support. Market structure suggests accumulation beneath the surface, with whale and OTC desk activity cushioning the sell-off.