Bitcoin Liquidations Top $1.1B as Short-Term Holders Move 55,600 BTC to Exchanges

Bitcoin slipped below $81,000 on Thursday, triggering roughly $1.09 billion in crypto liquidations over 24 hours—the largest single-day tally since August 21, according to data from CoinGlass. Long positions accounted for $1.05 billion of that total, as BTC/USD dropped to a low of $80,350 on Bitstamp, its weakest level since September 18, before recovering to around $82,500 by Friday morning UTC. The sell-off coincided with reports that the US government had moved more than 12,000 BTC previously confiscated, stoking fears of an impending government liquidation.

The $82,500 level remains a critical pivot for Bitcoin's broader uptrend that began in early July and serves as the breakout point for an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern. Trader and analyst Rekt Capital, who has tracked the pattern's similarities to Bitcoin's 2023 recovery, warned on X that a weekly close below $82,500 would flip that level into resistance and send BTC back into its macro accumulation range. "Bitcoin is currently failing its retest of ~$82500," he wrote Thursday, adding that the upcoming weekly candle close would be decisive for the bullish reversal thesis.

Onchain data underscored panic among newer investors during the decline. CryptoQuant contributor Amr Taha reported that short-term holders—wallets holding BTC for up to six months without selling—transferred 55,600 BTC to exchanges at a loss on Thursday, an unusually large outflow often associated with forced selling. Transactions at a loss indicate coins being moved at lower prices than their previous onchain purchase, reflecting what Taha described as an "impulsive urge to exit" positions amid fears of further downside. Related data showed Bitcoin's monthly new-money inflows were already nearing $5 billion even as price momentum stalled, suggesting underlying demand remained despite the volatility spike.