Some of Bitcoin’s earliest investors are starting to sell their holdings after the Federal Reserve delivered a hawkish tone, which dampened expectations for near-term interest rate cuts. The sales come as Bitcoin falls below the key $70,000 technical threshold.
OGs Sell After Hawkish Fed Meeting
Data from blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain reveals that at least two OG holders offloaded more than 1,650 BTC (valued at over $117.87 million) on Thursday.
One seasoned whale, Owen Gunden, who had earlier dumped an 11,000 BTC stash, unloaded an additional 650 BTC ($46 million) on Kraken, marking his first large sale in five months. Meanwhile, a separate early investor who purchased a 5,000 BTC stack 13 years ago exited part of their position, dumping 1,000 BTC, worth around $71 million.
The transfers highlighted signs of profit-taking by some long-term holders, as traders responded to hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data, hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve, and rising geopolitical tensions.
Bitcoin’s early-week rally stalled on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at 3.50.%–3.75%, causing BTC to dip by over 4% to an intraday low of $69,536, per CoinGecko data.
 
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell noted that inflation remains “somewhat elevated” above the Fed’s 2% target, emphasizing the economic uncertainty driven by ongoing events in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, reports indicated that Israel carried out an airstrike on Iran’s massive South Pars gas field — a key energy asset — following the killing of Iran’s intelligence minister Esmaeil Khatib, part of a series of hits on senior Iranian figures in recent days.
Bitcoin’s sharp fall from $75,000 to under $70,000 sparked more than $513 million in liquidations across the crypto market in the past 24 hours, with long positions accounting for $420 million, according to CoinGlass data.
What Next?
“All assets, except Oil, continue to sell off. Not a bad case here. The opposite: Bitcoin is also correcting, and it’s correcting less than I would assume,” popular crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe observed in a post on X.
Van de Poppe highlighted a clear technical rejection for Bitcoin at its resistance level, noting that the price has now retreated to his key support zone between $69,000 and $70,000. He emphasized a preference for this level to hold, which could pave the way for another upward test. However, he also pointed out that if the support fails, significant buying activity could emerge in the low $60,000s and below.
Looking ahead, crypto markets are expected to remain highly reactive to macroeconomic factors, including oil price movements, employment data, and signs of easing geopolitical tensions.
Be the first to comment