Bitcoin held near $79,000 on Tuesday after a 25% August rally, with short-term whales locking in a record $1.2 billion of profit over three days as traders brace for U.S. inflation and growth data. The largest cryptocurrency slipped 1.48% in the past 24 hours to trade around $79,280, while Ether fell 1.05%. Major altcoins including BNB, XRP, Solana, Tron, Dogecoin and Cardano dropped as much as 4.80%, though Hyperliquid rose 1.53%.
Whales cash out
Profit-taking by short-term holders reached the highest three-day total on record, according to Gupta. The $1.2 billion of realized gains coincides with a pullback that has not dented broader optimism: the Fear and Greed Index remained at 80, signaling “extreme greed,” CoinDCX Research Team said. Total crypto market capitalization actually rose 1.52% to $2.65 trillion, per CoinMarketCap, suggesting rotational buying beneath the surface decline.
Market structure holds
Liquidations hit $641.79 million in the latest session, with $489 million in long positions wiped out, confirming downside pressure, said Nischal Shetty, founder of WazirX. Yet spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $10.13 million of net inflows, pointing to sustained institutional interest. Vikram Subburaj, chief executive of Giottus, attributed the month’s rally to a weaker dollar, improving liquidity conditions and renewed appetite for alternative stores of value.
Data dependence
Technical indicators remain constructive. Bitcoin is holding above its 55-day exponential moving average and 200-day moving average, said Piyush Walke, derivatives research analyst at Delta Exchange. The relative strength index near 80, however, flags overbought conditions that could trigger a short-term cooldown. The immediate catalyst is today’s release of July U.S. PCE inflation and the second estimate of second-quarter GDP, which will set the tone for global risk assets.