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Either this is a nothingburger pullback, which sets the stage for an epic Bitcoin short squeeze, or a bad omen for another episode of Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD). Either way, Bitcoin investors are sure to remain glued to their screens for the next few hours amid the possibility of a near-term trend-defining event.
$BTC Spot CVDs
16K BTC sold at market from binance spot
Other spot exchanges had pretty typical size being soldInteresting selloff here pic.twitter.com/9SmirkSM7b
— Skew Δ (@52kskew) April 19, 2023
Just a few minutes back, around 16,000 BTC were sold in the Binance spot market. Notably, other major crypto exchanges continued to exhibit normal volumes even as this aberrant dump progressed. This suggests that the issue appears to be Binance-centric.
BREAKING: Massive long liquidations just hit the market.
Coinglass data shows a $166.42M lost within the last 1h.$BTC lost $1,000 immediately, and altcoins have been sailing into the Red Sea 🧨 pic.twitter.com/cQfJod0THx
— COIN360 (@COIN360com) April 19, 2023
Bitcoin’s price immediately dumped by around $1,000 to tag the $29,000 price level.
As per the tabulation by Coinglass, Bitcoin long positions worth over $163 million were liquidated in the hourly timeframe following this price plunge.
What’s more, this was the fifth largest liquidation of Bitcoin long positions since the 20th of January, 2023. In total, Bitcoin long positions worth over $181 million have been liquidated as of the time of publication.
The question emerges: what has prompted this aberrant wave of selling? Right now, there are only two plausible theories.
Gensler couldn't sleep after everyone pointed out that he is a corrupt scammer and decided to dump Bitcoin that US seized.
— WhalePanda (@WhalePanda) April 19, 2023
Some people believe that this selling wave has been precipitated by the US government. For the benefit of those who might be unaware, the authorities in the US intend to liquidate a huge stash of 41,500 BTC in four distinct batches this year. This Bitcoin stash relates to the Silk Road marketplace for illicit goods that was shut down by the authorities 10 years back, and its founder, Ross Ulbricht, is currently serving two life sentences. Back in 2012, James Zhong stole over 50,000 BTC from the Silk Road marketplace. This stash was confiscated by the US authorities in 2021.
$BTC
Either a new local low here if $29K is held & no FUD is dropped laterHowever, 16K BTC is unusual size to be market sold solely from Binance spot usually the kind of sale happens before bad news comes out.
if a nothing burger event; could see an omega short squeeze…
— Skew Δ (@52kskew) April 19, 2023
Others believe that major bad news vis-à-vis Binance is about to hit the airwaves. Crucially, such elevated dumps have been the hallmark of trend-defining adverse developments in previous instances.
However, should the FUD fail to materialize in the next few hours, Bitcoin bulls would be primed to benefit from a fierce short squeeze in light of the elevated put open interest at the $29,500 strike price.
About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur.
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