Bitcoin’s price slipped to a six-week low near $72,728, continuing its bearish trend as it faced intense selling pressure. At the time of reporting, Bitcoin traded around $73,376, down over 3% daily and adding to a weekly decline surpassing 5%, signaling mounting risk-averse sentiment among traders.
Amid this downturn, certain major investors on the derivatives market, particularly the whale identified as Garret Jin, reinforced their bullish bets. Jin increased his long position to 1,268 BTC, valued at approximately $94.4 million, despite already being down about $2 million due to the market fall. This move was reportedly aimed at avoiding forced liquidation during a period when long liquidations surged sharply.
The broader derivatives market displayed considerable turmoil, with long position liquidations spiking to $348 million and total liquidations hitting $366 million. Data from CoinGlass highlighted the scale of this sell-off, while CryptoQuant’s metrics showed that although whales remain the dominant force in futures trading, their total order volume has diminished as market conditions worsened.
Further signaling bearish sentiment, the derivatives buy-sell ratio dropped to 0.9, its lowest in two weeks. A ratio below 1 indicates sellers hold more control, reflecting traders’ increasing caution and risk aversion amid market uncertainty.
Technical momentum indicators reinforce the downtrend’s strength. The negative directional index (-DI) climbed to a monthly peak of 29, outpacing the positive directional index (+DI) at 12, with the average directional index (ADX) at 14—levels that historically forecast sustained downward trends.
If current conditions persist, especially with futures whales showing hesitance to increase exposure, Bitcoin’s support near $70,500 faces pressure. However, a market cooldown clearing excessive leverage could pave the way for a rebound above $75,000, potentially stabilizing prices and setting the stage for recovery.