Bitcoin has tumbled more than 30% from its all-time high of $126k and is trading around $85,500 after briefly falling to $82K, according to market reports. Traders warn that recent moves by long-term holders are changing how the market reacts to stress. Liquidity has thinned, and that makes price swings larger than usual.
His view has been repeated by bearish voices for years, but this time the comment lands against clear on-chain moves and big ETF outflows.
Traders note that when confident, long-term holders prune positions near local peaks; when many do it at once, price action often becomes more violent.
Some argue that after all these years Bitcoin is finally having its IPO moment now that there’s enough liquidity for the OGs to cash out. I agree, but this much Bitcoin moving from strong to weak hands not only increases the float, but also means future selloffs will be bigger.
Based on reports, whales and early wallets moved over 400,000 BTC in October, activity linked with large selling pressure. One early investor, Owen Gunden, reportedly liquidated his entire 11,000 BTC stake across October and November.
High-profile retail figures also sold: Robert Kiyosaki announced a sale worth roughly $2.25 million, saying he bought when BTC was about $6,000 and sold near $90,000, and that he plans to redeploy proceeds into income businesses.
Analysts at Bitfinex point to two key drivers of the recent drop: long-term holder sales and leveraged liquidations in derivatives markets. When margin positions unwind, prices can cascade lower before the market finds support.
BlackRock’s IBIT led with $355 million, while Grayscale’s GBTC and Fidelity’s FBTC each saw about $200 million leave.
Over the past month, ETF products have recorded roughly $4 billion in net outflows. Citi Research figures cited by market watchers place every $1 billion withdrawn at roughly a 3.4% negative swing in Bitcoin’s price.
Schiff’s warning shows that Bitcoin can still be shaken when big holders sell. Even with some institutions buying, moving coins from long-term owners to casual investors could make future price drops bigger and faster.
People watching the market will likely pay close attention to what these veteran holders do, because their actions could decide how steep the next crash might be.
Featured image from Born Free Foundation, chart from TradingView
