Retail sentiment shifted from “fear of missing out” (FOMO) to “fear of losing profits,” analysts say, as social media comments showed growing prudence, and uncertainty prompted traders to wait until after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during the Jackson Hole symposium.
On the flip side, Glassnode and CryptoQuant analytics show steady inflows into wallets holding 1,000 BTC or above—it’s a great whale accumulation signal. Large investors are taking the $110K–$112K range as a long-term buying opportunity.
“Whenever retail gets shaken out, the whales come in,” said Galaxy Digital crypto strategist Marcus Lee. “We’ve witnessed this cycle repeat in Bitcoin’s history, smart money takes dips to accumulate.”
Exchange outflows also validate the tale of institutional sentiment. In the past 48 hours, nearly 18,000 BTC, valued at over $2 billion, were withdrawn from major centralized exchanges, suggestive of cold-storage deposits and not sell anticipation.
The Bitcoin drop is taking place while global markets await leads regarding interest rate directions from the United States Federal Reserve. The hawkish policy can squeeze risk assets, including virtual currencies. In the meantime, long-term adoption sentiment dominates, following the recent rumor of a yuan-backed stablecoin by China to challenge globally the dollar-backed stablecoins.
Views are mixed about whether Bitcoin will experience greater corrections or bounce back sharply. Some analysts predict that if BTC falls below $110,000, it might set off a wave of liquidations of leveraged positions, sending the prices into the $105,000–$107,000 range.
Other analysts suggest whale action may create a robust price floor. “If the retail continues to sell but the whales continue to accumulate, Bitcoin may stabilize and retest $115K in the next couple of days.”
The overall crypto market reflected Bitcoin’s fall-off. Ethereum (ETH) retreated to about $4,250, and Solana (SOL) fell under $180. The meme coins and small-cap tokens took the hit the worst, with recording double-digit percentage losses in the last 24 hours.
However, there were a few assets that went against the trend. OKB, the OKX exchange’s token, rallied by more than 150% this week following rumors of new product launches and development of the ecosystem.
The price action of Bitcoin is being closely followed by the traders while the symposium of Jackson Hole plays its course. A dovish sentiment by the Fed may spark the recovery, while hawkish rhetoric may catalyze the retail capitulation even further.
For the moment, the difference between retail selling and whale purchases is the overriding narrative. “This tug-of-war will determine whether Bitcoin consolidates here or goes lower,” wrote Lee. “But shorting the whales has been profitable about as often as I’ve eaten dinner in the last week.”
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