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- Bitcoin fell back over the weekend after whales moved large amounts out of the market.
- A major shift of funds into Ethereum has raised talk of an altcoin season.
Bitcoin price dropped over the weekend after a short rally that followed U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday. The fall has been linked to large holders moving funds from Bitcoin to Ethereum, raising questions about whether the market is entering a new phase led by altcoins.
Whale Activity Puts Pressure on Bitcoin
Bitcoin climbed above $117,000 last Friday after Powell’s comments at the Jackson Hole Summit. He hinted at a possible interest rate cut in September, and traders reacted quickly. The rally, however, did not last.
By early Sunday, the Bitcoin price fell by 2.12% and traded at $112,692. At one point, the price touched a low of around $112,500, but has even fallen further to $111,527.01 as of writing, down 2.92%.
Vincent Liu, Chief Investment Officer at Kronos Research, said the rise after Powell’s speech came in thin trading conditions. He explained that once leverage cleared out and no new drivers came in, Bitcoin slipped back below key price levels.
Attention then turned to whale movements. Screenshots shared by WhaleWire showed that a wallet address, “19D5J…WoZ1C,” moved more than 24,000 BTC between August 16 and August 24. The transfers ranged from 3,000 BTC to 6,000 BTC at a time. WhaleWire Chief Executive Jacob King said the large sales set off panic among traders, who then rushed to sell, deepening the price fall.
King added that most of the money was moved into Ethereum, with around $2 billion purchased and $1.3 billion staked. He described the heavy selling as a “flash crash” that shook the market.
Liu, however, cautioned against pointing fingers at a single wallet. He noted that big transactions of this size usually involve more than one whale or even exchanges with deep holdings. According to him, the weekend sell-off looked more like a group of players acting at the same time rather than one individual.
However, while Bitcoin continues to slip, as detailed in our last news piece, a new legislative proposal in the Philippines has been introduced to position BTC as part of the country’s official reserves. Last week, CNF also reported that Eric Trump made a bold prediction that the coin would surpass $1 million, helping to keep the bullish outlook.
Ethereum Gains Raise Talk of Altcoin Season
It is worth mentioning that the shift of funds into Ethereum has started a wider debate. Traders are now asking if this marks the beginning of altcoin season. King suggested that the move shows investors are giving Ethereum more attention, and this could guide the market in the coming weeks.
This speculation is also strengthened as a result of Ethereum’s recent major win. As we reported last week, Ethereum ETF holdings have risen to 6.069 million ETH. Notably, this shows a clear change in how institutions are building their positions.
The coming days will show whether altcoin season has truly returned. For now, Bitcoin is under pressure while Ethereum stands out as the main winner from the whale activity. Whether this change is short-term or the start of a longer cycle is what the market will watch closely in the days ahead.
