Bitcoin speculators move 55K BTC to exchanges amid $1.1B liquidations

Bitcoin prices fell below $81,000, leading to liquidations totaling over $1 billion within a 24-hour period as short-term traders moved tens of thousands of BTC to exchanges at a loss, according to data from CoinGlass. This marked the largest daily tally since August 21, when Bitcoin had surged from $73,000 to $79,500, reaching two-month highs and triggering $1.3 billion in crypto short liquidations.

Long positions, however, amounted to $1.05 billion of the total. The sell-off followed news of the US government transferring more than 12,000 BTC that it had seized previously, which could spur potential sales. Bitcoin's price dropped to $80,350 on Bitstamp, its lowest point since September 18, before rebounding to approximately $82,500 on Friday.

This level has been crucial as Bitcoin's broader uptrend since early July began, acting as a potential support for an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern. Analyst Rekt Capital, who has observed this reversal pattern and noted its resemblance to Bitcoin's recovery in 2023, believes that Bitcoin will need to maintain this support to validate a bullish reversal.

On Thursday, onchain data revealed that short-term holders, who hold Bitcoin for up to six months without selling, sent 55,600 BTC to exchanges at a loss. This implies that traders were swiftly exiting their positions due to fears of further declines. CryptoQuant analyst Amr Taha noted that this was a significant increase compared to June 26, when Bitcoin was trading below $60,000 for two consecutive days.

The contributor highlighted that the price difference was more than 36% higher than in June, indicating that exchange users might not have decided to sell their entire positions even after transferring them to their accounts.