Bitcoin breaks $79K but faces headwinds from institutional selling and liquidations

Bitcoin extended a five-day rally of more than 30 percent to breach the $79,000 level, though the move triggered mixed institutional responses. BlackRock continued purchasing while Jump Crypto transferred 1.14 thousand BTC valued at $89 million to Binance's exchange wallet in two transactions worth $8.1 million and $80.88 million, signalling profit-taking by established market participants.

Selling pressure extended beyond that single institution. A cryptocurrency whale that had been offloading Bitcoin since July 19 sold a further 2,700 BTC worth $211.8 million, bringing its three-day total to 7,700 BTC worth $576.6 million. Combined institutional and whale selling activity created more than $300 million in distribution pressure.

The liquidations that followed exceeded $647 million, with Bitcoin accounting for the bulk of that figure. These cascaded after BTC retraced to $77,000, erasing roughly 2.5 percent of the gains that the rally had produced and rippling through Ethereum, Solana and XRP.

Technical indicators pointed to potential headwinds ahead. Bitcoin's rally above $79,500 reached its most overbought level since November 2024, with the RSI climbing to 86 before cooling to 80. Traders had stacked more than $92 million in sell orders between $79,000 and $80,000 on Binance, while larger trades were positioned between $74,000 and $76,000. On the hourly chart, Bitcoin had lost the 9 and 26 simple moving averages, and the MACD had turned negative as the price dropped below $77,000, though support from the 50 SMA on the same timeframe remained in place.