Bitcoin price slipped from 24-hour highs near $116,000 to around $110,000 overnight, as large on-chain movements from both the U.S. government and BlackRock fueled speculation about potential institutional repositioning.
According to on-chain analytics, the U.S. government transferred 667.6 BTC, worth roughly $74.8 million, to a new wallet early this morning. The move immediately sparked concerns that the coins — likely seized from prior law enforcement actions — could be en route to an exchange for liquidation.
The transfer likely stems from the U.S. government’s August 2025 conviction of Sergei Potapenko and Igor Turogin in the Hashflare mining fraud case, according to Alex Thorn, Head of Firmwide Research at Galaxy Digital.
Rather than a sale, the move appears to mark the formal forfeiture of the Bitcoin to U.S. government control — either for custody under the Attorney General or for use in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Around the same time, BlackRock deposited $371 million in ETH and $78 million in BTC to Coinbase, a transaction that some traders speculated could be a signal of upcoming portfolio rebalancing.
Bitcoin price sentiment and long-term value.
The move down to $110,000 follows what has been one of Bitcoin’s most volatile stretches in years. The broader market is still digesting last week’s dramatic plunge, when over $19 billion in positions were liquidated within hours — the largest single liquidation event in crypto history.
More than 1.6 million traders were forced out of positions as cascading margin calls swept across exchanges, triggering an 80% drawdown in various crypto and many altcoins.
Much of the recent carnage stemmed from excessive leverage rather than broad-based selling. The $19 billion wiped out represented a clearing of speculative positions as funding rates swung sharply negative — reaching their most bearish levels since October 2023, when Bitcoin traded near $28,000, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro analysis.
On-chain data supports this interpretation. Long-term holders continue to sit tight, with coin days destroyed and spent output profit ratio metrics showing that most selling came from recent entrants capitulating at a loss.
Historically, these flush-outs have marked local bottoms rather than the end of cycles.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s network fundamentals remain robust. Active addresses, hash rate, and transaction throughput all suggest steady organic activity despite the sell-off.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $111,630.
