Bitcoin’s Dip Below $60,000 Linked to Durov and TON Turmoil, Says Expert

The decline of TON, exacerbated by the prolonged detention of Telegram founder Pavel Durov, may have triggered a downturn in the digital asset market. This was suggested by cryptocurrency trader Vladimir Cohen in a conversation with ForkLog.

The expert noted that the drop on the night of August 28 was influenced by the actions of an unknown large player, which were not aligned with the news background and standard market maker strategies.

“On August 26, sentiment shifted to greed, people started increasing longs, buying on the spot due to rising FOMO sentiments. Headlines emerged about a new rally. But it was, let’s say, an inappropriate time for such a dump. […] To remove buyer liquidity, it would have taken another day or two, which would have resulted in much larger volumes. This happens when a large seller unexpectedly appears,” commented the expert.

Cohen noted that amid systematic pressure, which pushed the rate below $63,000, bots exited the order books, reflecting the precipitous nature of the price decline. According to his estimates, on major platforms, buy orders were concentrated in the $58,000–$60,000 range, and it was in this area that the rate found support.

The trader observed a “shelf” at $62,000 from a large player who “clearly wants to sell volume.”

He admitted he does not know who this “bear” is but suggested it could be market makers associated with Durov.

According to the expert, active purchases in TON were observed in the $5.8 to $6.2 range, but in the absence of information about the release of the Telegram founder, holders began to actively offload the asset, pushing the rate down to $5.5 and below. The situation could have been worsened by technical issues with the blockchain. Support was only found at $5.3.

Cohen believes this was due to market makers associated with Durov. In his opinion, they possess “substantial” reserves of bitcoins.

Their sales were necessary “to support TON, NOT, and other tokens of the ecosystem for millions of users who generally understood that everything was proceeding according to a negative scenario,” the trader indicated.

Cohen did not rule out that Pavel Durov might have needed cash, considering his situation. The Telegram founder has held the first cryptocurrency since early times, until 2020.

“10,000 BTC could have been sold by Pavel to support the TON ecosystem tokens and prevent a panic sale. If this had not been done, TON could have collapsed to $4 and below. But the dynamics of the assets and especially the behavior of TON are telling. The volumes on purchase in the last three days, despite the panic among holders who understand that a positive outcome is unlikely in this situation,” wrote the specialist.

Earlier, TON rose by 5% amid news of Durov’s “release.”

Update (28.08.24, 20:45 Kyiv/MSK): Cohen’s quote has been amended at the speaker’s request.