Significant Bitcoin holders, often referred to as "OG whales," have initiated large-scale sell-offs totaling over $117 million following a hawkish Federal Reserve policy update that has diminished market expectations for aggressive interest rate cuts. Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain reported at least two major transactions early Thursday: one veteran whale, who previously sold an 11,000 BTC stack, sold an additional 650 BTC, while a separate early adopter with a 5,000 BTC stash offloaded a full 1,000 BTC.
The selling pressure contributed to a broader market downturn. Bitcoin's price fell nearly 1% to around $70,600, extending a 3.5% slide from the previous day's high near $74,500. The decline was mirrored across major altcoins, with Ether (ETH), XRP, Solana (SOL), and Dogecoin (DOGE) all suffering similar losses. The CoinDesk 20 Index dropped 3% to 2,056 points.
The primary catalyst was the Federal Reserve's latest policy decision on Wednesday. While the central bank left the benchmark interest rate unchanged in the 3.5%–3.75% range, it signaled a slower path for future rate cuts. The updated "dot plot" revealed that the median projection among Fed officials now points to only one rate cut in 2026, a reduction from prior expectations. Fed Chair Jerome Powell's own personal projection also moved higher.
"The higher for longer narrative has been reinvigorated by sticky inflation and the inflationary shadow cast by rising energy costs, forcing investors to abandon their dreams of a rapid easing cycle," said Matt Mena, crypto research strategist at 21Shares.
This shift in monetary policy outlook led to a sharp repricing in financial markets. Trading on platforms like Polymarket and CME Fed funds futures now implies an approximately 80% probability of just one rate cut this year, compared to a 62% probability of two to three cuts a month ago. The prospect of tighter liquidity is viewed as a headwind for risk assets like cryptocurrencies.
Not all whale activity was bearish. Lookonchain also noted one large entity that has been accumulating Bitcoin daily since March 10, purchasing over 500 BTC worth $37 million in the latest transaction. This whale has amassed a total of 2,656 BTC (worth roughly $190 million) at an average price of just over $72,000 during this period.
