Whales Offload 17,500 BTC Amid Market Decline

Bitcoin price fell below $110,000 due to whale sales and market tensions.

On October 16th, the price of Bitcoin fell below $110,000. Analysts attributed the 12% drop from the recent all-time high to sales by large holders, tensions in US-China trade relations, and increased demand for put options, according to The Block.

At one point, the price of the leading cryptocurrency dropped to ~$109,800. At the time of writing, it had recovered to $111,220. The correction followed the largest liquidation of positions in crypto market history, exceeding $19 billion over the past weekend.

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan described the event as a structural “reset” rather than a market collapse.

Timothy Misir, head of research at BRN, believes that large holders are reducing positions without signs of panic. According to his data, whales with balances from 10 to 10,000 BTC sold ~17,500 BTC. However, since the beginning of the year, they remain net buyers, having accumulated over 318,000 BTC. This resembles asset rotation rather than a mass exit, Misir stated.

Options market data indicates that traders are hedging against another correction. The volume of put options exceeded $1.15 billion, accounting for 28% of the total trade flow. The lion’s share of open interest in call options is concentrated in the $115,000-130,000 range.

As Bitcoin declined, other major cryptocurrencies also fell in value. The total crypto market capitalization shrank to $3.8 trillion. The Fear and Greed Index stands at 28, indicating growing investor caution.

In the past 24 hours, long positions worth over $528 million have been liquidated.

Some analysts view the developments as a sign of market resilience. 21Shares strategist Matt Mena noted that Bitcoin maintains strong positions. In his view, structural demand, supported by a $6 billion inflow into ETFs over the past month, continues to form a price floor.

He believes that after deleveraging, the situation looks constructive towards the end of the year, paving the way to $150,000 if institutional demand persists.

However, in the short term, the technical outlook appears fragile. Mena warns that a decisive break below $110,000 could push the price into the $104,000–108,000 range. To resume a bullish momentum, Bitcoin needs to consolidate above $115,000.

Whale Shifts from Short to Long

According to the analytics platform Lookonchain, one whale has changed its trading strategy, shifting from short to long positions, indicating an expectation of market growth.

Whale 0xc2a3, who made over $5.5M in profits in just 4 days, has flipped from short to long!

He just opened a 5x long on 68.4 $BTC($7.6M) and placed limit orders to go long on $ETH as well.https://t.co/ort0PmauDQhttps://t.co/Cc68TH8iyB pic.twitter.com/5bvKirI8Ty

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) October 16, 2025

The trader opened a long position on 68.4 BTC worth $7.6 million. The trade was executed with fivefold leverage.

Previously, this market participant earned over $5.5 million in just four days amid falling prices.

The whale also placed limit orders to open long positions in Ethereum.

Earlier, CryptoQuant analyst Axel Adler Jr. stated that Bitcoin has passed a maturity test.