Bitcoin falls below $81,000 as US government moves billions in crypto

Bitcoin prices fell below $81,000, marking the first drop below this level since September 21. The decline was driven by rising oil prices, high bond yields, and market anxiety regarding potential large-scale sales of cryptocurrency held by the United States government.

Onchain data tracked significant movements of digital assets from wallets linked to US government seizures. This included the transfer of approximately 12,267 BTC, valued at over $1 billion, and additional transfers totaling roughly $770 million to Coinbase Prime. These assets include funds seized from criminal cases and those recovered from the Bitfinex exchange hack. Additionally, approximately 40,285 BNB tokens were moved through various addresses.

The market reacted sharply to these developments, with over $480 million in long positions liquidated within a single hour. Other economic factors, such as 10-year Treasury yields reaching levels not seen since 2002 and geopolitical tensions involving Iran, have further pressured risk assets.