Bitcoin and Ethereum have experienced significant price declines, with Bitcoin hovering around $90,000 and Ethereum trading near $3,000, reflecting sharp moves after a rough week. Over the past seven days, Bitcoin fell more than 12% and Ethereum dropped about 11%, erasing year-to-date gains and pushing Bitcoin into negative territory for 2025.
According to CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju, long-term holders, or 'whales,' have been selling Bitcoin, with coins moving into the hands of traditional finance entities like spot ETF vehicles and corporate treasuries. This rotation is part of a broader trend where older holders profit-take, while institutional sources provide fresh liquidity. On-chain metrics suggest this may be a mid-cycle correction rather than a market reversal, with short-term holders panic-selling and long-term holders engaging in routine profit-taking.
The broader crypto market has seen over $1 trillion wiped off its total capitalization in six weeks, a 25% decline since early October highs. JAN3 CEO Samson Mow noted that large, price-insensitive buyers, such as stablecoin issuers and high-revenue companies, view the dip as a 'discount' opportunity, with Bitcoin at $95,000 representing a near 20% drop from peaks around $126,000.
Analysts from Nansen and others highlight that Bitcoin is increasingly behaving like a macro asset, influenced by liquidity conditions, the U.S. dollar, and policy cues. ActivTrades analyst Carolane De Palmas pointed to uncertainty around the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut path, exacerbated by a potential U.S. government shutdown delaying economic data. This has dampened liquidity expectations and risk appetite, leading to forced selling. FxPro chief analyst Alex Kuptsikevich added that Bitcoin broke below the 50-week moving average, confirming a break in the two-year uptrend and potentially signaling a pullback toward the 200-week moving average.
