Crypto & Web3

Bitcoin Whales Sell $16B BTC as Price Risks Drop to $100K

24/09/2025
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Key takeaways:

  • Bitcoin whales have sold 147,000 BTC over the past 30 days.

  • BTC price bear flag targets $100,000 if support breaks. 

Bitcoin (BTC) whales have offloaded about 147,000 BTC over the past month, and continued selling could further pressure its price for the next few weeks, according to analysts.

Large investors offload $16.5 billion in BTC

Bitcoin whales — entities holding a large amount of coins, usually 1,000 BTC or more — started to offload coins soon after BTC price hit new all-time highs above $124,500 in August.

Related: Bitcoin to ‘move up smartly again’ toward end of 2025: Saylor

Analyzing the monthly change in total whale holdings, CryptoQuant head of research Julio Moreno said that the supply had decreased by a net 147,000 BTC, worth around $16.5 billion at current market prices as of Wednesday. This represented a more than 2.7% decrease over the last 30 days.

He added:

“Total balance declining at the fastest monthly rate of the cycle.”

Bitcoin: Total whale holdings and 30-day percentage change. Source: CryptoQuant

In a reply, fellow CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost said that the selling was mostly by long-term holder (LTH) whales.  

“LTHs continue to move coins,” Darkfost wrote in an X post on Monday, adding that the younger LTH cohort (six–12 months) has made more than 10 transfers since early September, each ranging from 8,000 to 9,000 BTC.

“Taking an average of 8,500 BTC per move with BTC priced at $115,000, this translates into roughly $10B in selling pressure on the market.”

Data from Glassnode showed that while whale moves may be accelerating, the volume transferred by these entities to exchanges has been relatively low since late August, which means that coins are likely going elsewhere.

Bitcoin: Transfer volume from whales to exchanges. Source: Glassnode

Some of the biggest buyers in recent months have been Bitcoin treasury companies, which continue their aggressive accumulation. Japan’s Metaplanet, for example, added 5,419 BTC last week to become the fifth-largest Bitcoin holder. 

Michael Saylor’s Strategy added 850 BTC for $99.7 million last week, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to 639,835 BTC.

Crypto investment company River pointed out that companies now hold more Bitcoin than ETFs, as accumulation continues. 

“Both will keep accelerating their accumulation.”

So while whale selling exerts sell-side pressure, robust ETF inflows and corporate treasury buys create a structural floor, absorbing the profit-taking by long-term holders and whales. 

Bitcoin’s bear flag targets $100,00 BTC price

BTC’s drop below $116,000 on Sunday validated the bear flag on the daily chart (see below, which hints at the continuation of the downtrend.

Bitcoin bulls also lost the support provided by the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) at $114,300 and the 100-day SMA at $113,400, highlighting the intensity of the sell-side pressure.

The bulls are now counting on the support zone between $112,000 and $110,000 to hold. A daily candlestick close below this level would trigger another sell-off toward the technical target of the bear flag at $100,000. Such a move would represent an 11% descent from the current price.

BTCUSD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The relative strength index has dropped to 44 from 61 over the last week, suggesting the downward momentum is building.

As Cointelegraph reported, the bulls might regain their footing at about $106,000 in the event of further BTC price correction if buyers step in.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.