Bitunix Analyst: Whale Sell-Off Accelerates, Not Panic Yet but Liquidity Gap Poses Risk

BlockBeats News, November 17, on-chain data shows that several "whales" holding more than a thousand bitcoins have recently concentrated on selling, causing the bitcoin price to fall from below 100,000 all the way down to around $97,000. Both exchanges and derivatives windows are showing selling pressure: overall, whale short positions are higher than long positions (on-chain data shows shorts at about $2.17 billion, longs at about $1.18 billion), and bitcoin ETF has seen net outflows for several consecutive weeks, totaling several billions of dollars over the past five weeks, with a significant decline in demand-side absorption. In the derivatives market, protective put options are active around $90,000–$95,000, indicating the market is seeking hedging at lower levels. Although much of the selling is attributed to long-term holders taking profits—both Glassnode and MarketVector reports lean towards "planned selling" rather than panic liquidation—the current situation is not without risk. The key lies in absorption depth: during the long-term sell-off from the end of last year to the beginning of this year, there were still buyers in the market to absorb; at this stage, ETF outflows and a slowdown in institutional allocation make it easier for sell orders of the same scale to amplify price volatility, causing a chain reaction of liquidations.

Technically and in conclusion, the key short-term price levels to watch are $100,000 and $93,000; if $93,000 is confirmed to be lost, the market may test deeper liquidity zones. Conversely, if active buying (including known large players such as Strategy, etc.) steps in at lower levels and stabilizes ETF capital flows, a structural rebound after deleveraging may be triggered.

Bitunix analysts focus on whale wallet movements and large transfers; ETF capital flows and institutional buy/sell announcements; and in the derivatives market, changes in open interest for put options (PUT/OI) and implied volatility—if all three turn positive simultaneously, it signals the true return of buying power; otherwise, market direction will still be determined by liquidity.