Bitcoin (BTC) $83,324 price declined to $60,300 at the time of writing, influenced by China after several years. The significant sell-off in 2021, resulting from a mining ban in China, raised alarms again for investors. Recent news, which surfaced just minutes ago, indicates potential sales reaching billions of dollars, heightening concerns in the market.
Why is Bitcoin Dropping?
As mentioned earlier, BTC faced closures below $61,700, with a test at $60,700 looming. Today, that situation materialized, with the price dipping to $60,300. The cause for this drop is linked to the recent movement of 7,000 ETH from the PlusToken incident, which was seized over the last 24 hours and sent to exchanges.
PlusToken was a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that began in early 2018, causing billions in losses. It operated until June 2019 before being dismantled by Chinese authorities. At the time of its closure, PlusToken held 194,000 BTC and 830,000 ETH, with most of the BTC sold between August 2019 and March 2020. However, the ETH remained untouched until summer 2021, and nearly one-third of it was sent to a relatively unknown exchange called Bidesk, where it is assumed to have been sold.
In recent hours, ETH reserves have been moved to exchanges, indicating a potential wave of selling pressure. If all BTC is sent to exchanges, it could produce selling pressure exceeding 500,000 ETH.