Bitcoin News Today: Whales and Inflation Drive Crypto's Capitulation Countdown

Bitcoin fell below $109,000 on Friday amid volatile market sentiment driven by whale activity and concerns over incoming U.S. inflation data. The price drop, which saw BTC/USD decline by nearly 3%, was attributed to large-scale selling by crypto whales, as noted by traders monitoring order books and liquidity shifts. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView indicated that the price dropped by $3,000 within hours, hitting local lows of $109,436 on Bitstamp. Over $350 million in crypto long positions were liquidated in 24 hours, further compounding the downward pressure.

The pattern of price movement was described as the “whale playbook,” with traders observing a repeat of behavior seen earlier in August. Notably, Merlijn, a prominent trader on X, highlighted large inflows into market maker Wintermute involving Bitcoin and Ether as a sign of strategic manipulation. Keith Alan of Material Indicators also commented that deliberate liquidity shifts, often dubbed “Spoofy The Whale” behavior, appeared to be influencing short-term price action. This has led to increased caution among traders, who now view the current phase as a period of capitulation potentially lasting several weeks.

Meanwhile, the U.S. core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, is expected to further impact market sentiment. The index rose 2.9% year-over-year in July—the fastest pace since February—highlighting the persistence of inflationary pressures. This data, combined with a 0.2% month-over-month price increase, has raised concerns among investors about the Fed's ability to implement its anticipated rate cut in September. Analysts remain split, with some suggesting that a cooler job market could prompt action, while others warn that prolonged inflation could delay policy easing.

In the ETF space, spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs saw steep outflows of $291.28 million on Friday, marking a significant reversal from recent inflow trends. Ether ETFs alone lost $164.64 million, ending a five-day inflow streak that had added over $1.5 billion to the asset class. Bitcoin ETFs also experienced outflows of $126.64 million, the first daily decline since August 22. Fidelity’s FBTC and ARK Invest’s ARKB led the outflow list, while BlackRock’s IBIT and WisdomTree’s BTCW saw modest inflows, signaling continued institutional interest despite the market pullback.

The broader crypto market also felt the impact, with total capitalization dropping 3.5% to $3.83 trillion. Ethereum fell 4.5% to $4,340, XRP dropped 5.3% to $2.84, and BNB declined 1.3% to $860.26. Leverage positions were particularly hard hit, with over $543 million in liquidations recorded on Friday, as reported by CoinGlass. ETH traders faced the largest losses at $183 million, followed by BTC traders at $131 million.

Despite the recent turbulence, Ethereum’s adoption continued to gain momentum, with institutional holdings reaching 4.4 million ETH, valued at over $19 billion. This represents about 3.7% of total issuance and has bolstered confidence in Ethereum’s long-term value proposition. Analysts remain optimistic about the asset’s role in institutional portfolios, despite short-term volatility.

Source: [1] Bitcoin whales send BTC price under $109.5K as market wobbles into US PCE (https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-whales-send-btc-price-under-109-5k-market-wobbles-into-us-pce) [2] BTC, ETH ETFs hemorrhage $291M triggered by US (https://www.mitrade.com/insights/news/live-news/article-3-1082437-20250830) [3] Bitcoin Slips Under $109000 as US Inflation Data Weighs (https://thedefiant.io/news/markets/bitcoin-slips-under-usd109-000-as-us-inflation-data-weighs-on-sentiment)