Summary: Bitcoin Price Bleeds As Galaxy Digital Unleashes $1.5 Billion Sell-Off

Bitcoin's much-anticipated summer rally has taken an abrupt turn, plunging the leading cryptocurrency into a significant downturn. What triggered this sudden shift in market dynamics? The benchmark cryptocurrency recently plummeted from an intraday peak exceeding $119,000 to as low as $115,800 in European morning hours, marking its weakest point in a fortnight. This sharp 2.7% slide is largely attributed to a massive sell-off orchestrated by Galaxy Digital. According to wallet-tracking firm Lookonchain, Galaxy Digital transferred over 10,000 BTC, valued at approximately $1.18 billion, to major exchanges in less than eight hours. Further fueling the downturn, an additional 2,850 BTC ($330.44 million) was deposited, originating from a "Satoshi-era whale" that had re-activated its holdings this month. This large-scale movement of funds is part of a broader saga that began on July 4th, when an address dormant since 2011 started fragmenting an 80,009-BTC trove. By July 18th, a total of 40,191 BTC, worth $4.8 billion, had landed at Galaxy, prompting many analysts to anticipate a substantial liquidation. While Galaxy Digital has offered no public comment, market speculators are actively theorizing about the motives. Speculation includes client-driven sales, connections to other major players like Michael Saylor, or a strategic pivot towards Ethereum. This latter theory gains traction from Galaxy CEO Michael Novogratz's recent public statements on CNBC, where he suggested Ether might "outperform" Bitcoin in the coming months. Despite the immediate negative impact, industry experts like Charles Edwards of Capriole Investments remain cautiously optimistic. Edwards highlighted that ample demand from institutional buyers could quickly absorb even larger Bitcoin liquidations, potentially stabilizing the market in the long run. Currently, Bitcoin trades around the $115,000 mark as the market digests these significant movements.