- A Bitcoin whale closed a $93.8 million short position, securing roughly $3.56 million in profit before rotating into Ethereum.
- More than $634 million in long positions were liquidated as Bitcoin dropped to a four-month low near $61,300.
- Technical indicators suggest bearish momentum remains strong, with analysts watching the $60,000 support level closely.
Bitcoin’s recent slide has become increasingly difficult for bulls to ignore. Since losing the key $70,000 support level, the world’s largest cryptocurrency has continued moving lower, eventually touching a four-month low of $61,309 before staging a modest bounce.
At the time of writing, BTC had recovered slightly to around $63,306. Even so, the asset remained down roughly 4.7% over the past day, underscoring the pressure currently weighing on the market. As prices revisit levels last seen in February, traders across the derivatives market are rapidly adjusting their positions, and some large players appear to be benefiting from the chaos.
Whale Banks Millions as Bitcoin Shorts Pay Off
As Bitcoin’s decline accelerated, short sellers found themselves in an increasingly favorable position. Data shared by On-chain Lens revealed that a prominent whale known as “pension-usdt.eth” fully closed a massive short position involving 1,400 BTC, valued at approximately $93.8 million.
The trade delivered a profit of roughly $3.56 million and extended the whale’s impressive streak of successful trades to 21 consecutive wins. Interestingly, after closing the Bitcoin position, the investor reportedly rotated capital into Ethereum, suggesting they may see a different opportunity emerging elsewhere in the market.
Profitable short positions often reflect growing bearish conviction, and that’s exactly what current market data appears to show. Sellers remain firmly in control for now, while confidence among bullish traders continues to weaken.
Bearish Bets Continue to Grow
The broader derivatives market paints a similar picture. According to CoinGlass data, Bitcoin’s Long/Short Ratio declined to 0.94, indicating that short positions now outnumber longs.
When the ratio drops below 1, it generally signals that traders expect further downside. While contrarian investors sometimes view excessive bearishness as a potential reversal signal, current sentiment suggests most participants are still preparing for lower prices rather than a rebound.
That shift in positioning reflects a market that has become increasingly defensive. Traders are choosing protection over optimism, and honestly, it’s hard to blame them given the recent price action.
Long Traders Suffer Heavy Liquidation Losses
While short sellers have enjoyed rising profits, bullish traders have endured a much rougher experience. One of the more notable examples involves crypto investor Garrett Jin, whose leveraged Bitcoin position has been hit particularly hard during the downturn.
According to Onchain Lens, Jin’s 5x leveraged BTC long is currently sitting on an unrealized loss exceeding $17 million. Despite the mounting pressure, he has maintained the position and reportedly spent more than $153,000 in funding payments to keep the trade open and avoid liquidation.
Unfortunately, not every trader has been able to withstand the market’s volatility.
CoinGlass data shows that total crypto liquidations surged to roughly $752 million over the past 24 hours. Of that amount, a staggering $634.6 million came from liquidated long positions, highlighting just how aggressively bullish bets have been unwound as prices moved lower.
Can Bitcoin Hold Above Critical Support?
Technical indicators suggest bearish momentum remains firmly intact. Bitcoin’s Average Directional Index (ADX), often used to measure trend strength, has continued climbing alongside negative momentum readings.
The ADX recently pushed higher while the positive directional index weakened significantly, a combination that generally signals a strong and continuing trend. In this case, that trend remains pointed downward.
If current market conditions persist, Bitcoin could lose the psychologically important $60,000 level and potentially fall toward the next support zone around $58,600. Such a move would likely trigger fresh concern among investors already rattled by recent volatility.
For bulls to regain control, Bitcoin would first need to reclaim $70,000 and then establish a convincing close above $74,000. Until that happens, sellers appear to hold the upper hand, and the path of least resistance remains lower.
