Crypto Markets Shed Over $100B as BTC Slumped to $95K (Weekend Watch)

Cryptocurrency analyst and trader Ali Martinez has shared a chart provided by the on-chain data aggregator Santiment.

This chart clearly shows a massive decline in whale activity on the Shibarium network over the past 90 days.

SHIB whales' activity declines

The Santiment chart shared by Martinez shows a tremendous decline in SHIB whale transactions on the network since early December 2024. The chart registers SHIB transfers of more than $1 million worth of SHIB made by large wallets.

The decline in transaction activity has dropped along with the SHIB price as it declined from $0.000033 to $0.000016. Ali commented that since Dec. 6, whale activity on the Shiba Inu network has seen a 79% decline.

SHIB burns skyrocket 134%

According to a recent tweet published by the Shibburn tracker, in the past day the SHIB community has succeeded in pushing the burn rate up, giving it significant momentum.

During the last 24 hours, the community has managed to dispose of 34,245,582 SHIB, driving it out of the circulation supply. Thus, the burn rate jumped by 133.66%, the tweet shows.

The two largest burn transactions carried 20,423,263 and 13,046,414 Shiba Inu meme coins.

As for the weekly burn rate, it has also shown a major increase, going up by 120.3%. Over the past week, a total of 128,221,396 SHIB has been locked in unspendable blockchain wallets, i.e., burned.

SHIB market performance

Meanwhile, the second largest meme-themed cryptocurrency SHIB has displayed an almost 3% increase since Friday. This way, it has attempted to recover after the 6.57% decline that took place on Thursday.

At the time of writing this, SHIB is changing hands at $0.00001540.

Ripple has been trading with minimal momentum, exhibiting quiet price action above the 100-day moving average.

This low-volatility consolidation phase suggests a temporary market equilibrium, likely to persist until a decisive breakout sets the next trend direction.XRP Analysis

By ShayanThe Daily Chart

XRP’s price action has remained stagnant, with minimal volatility as it consolidates above the 100-day moving average at $2.3. This tight trading range, defined by the $2.3 support and the critical $3 resistance, suggests a state of equilibrium between buyers and sellers.

The RSI indicator reinforces this indecision, hovering around the neutral level, signaling a balance of market forces. However, this consolidation phase is unlikely to persist indefinitely, and a decisive breakout in either direction appears imminent. Given current market dynamics, a bullish breakout seems more probable, potentially paving the way for a new all-time high in the coming weeks.

Bitcoin is struggling with low trading activity and weak momentum, leading to subdued price action near the 100-day moving average.

However, a strong bullish rebound remains possible, contingent on a return of sufficient liquidity to the market.Technical Analysis

By ShayanThe Daily Chart

Bitcoin remains in a phase of indecision, with price action hovering near the 100-day moving average at $98K. This prolonged consolidation, characterized by low volatility and weak momentum, suggests a balance between buyers and sellers.

The RSI indicator reinforces this notion, highlighting an ongoing struggle between bullish and bearish forces, with the $98K support and the $108K resistance emerging as key battlegrounds. However, a decisive move in either direction is unlikely until liquidity returns to the market. Despite this uncertainty, an ultimate bullish breakout appears more probable, given the presence of multiple support zones below the current price, indicating strong buyer interest.

A former cryptocurrency exchange executive remarked that Bitcoin is an inescapable reality, a statement that stirred a discussion within the crypto community.

The comment made by the former CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, was a reaction to the report that another American state sought to establish a local version of US President Donald Trump’s proposed Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

Bitcoin Reserve Bill

The proposal to create a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is gaining momentum as several US states passed legislation that seeks to establish a localized version of a BTC reserve and build their crypto portfolio.

Satoshi Action Fund posted on its X account that Montana’s proposed House Bill No. 420 which seeks to create a localized Bitcoin reserve has been passed.

“Strategic Bitcoin Reserve legislation in Montana passes out of committee and moves onto a House floor vote,” Satoshi Action Fund said.

Representative Curtis Schomer sponsored the BTC-related bill.

“Montana becomes the 4th state to pass SBR out of committee. Utah, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Montana,” Dennis Porter, CEO and Co-Founder at Satoshi Action Fund, noted on his social media post.

‘No Escape’

With this development, CZ posted his thoughts on the Montana legislation, implying that Bitcoin has become an unavoidable reality while saying, “There is no other choice.”

“You can buy bitcoins after the US government is done buying, or before,” CZ said in a post, indicating that buying the firstborn cryptocurrency is inescapable and that it is no longer a debate whether to buy or not but rather when investors should make a purchase.

A crypto trader agrees with CZ’s opinion that no one can avoid BTC. “Front-run the biggest buyer in history, or wait until there’s nothing left. The choice isn’t if—it’s when.”

The trader added that those late in adopting BTC will have to pay the premium for not making the move earlier.

BNB Donation

In a separate post, CZ emphasized the significance of crypto donations to help other individuals during disasters.

The ex-Binance executive shared that his previous donation was returned to him with additional crypto, describing it as something unexpected.

Earlier, CZ gave away 150 BNB worth $100,000 to crypto investors who lost their money in a pump-and-dump scheme related to the LIBRA coin, a digital asset that was briefly promoted by Argentina’s president, Javier Milei.

CZ said that he sent the BNB to a university student, who added $50,000 of his own money to aid the victims. He believes that the student might have earned decent profits on BNB and decided to return the crypto to CZ with a bigger value.

Featured image from Finans, chart from TradingView

Bitcoin maximalist and JAN3 boss Samson Mow calls for the Ethereum chain to be rolled back after North Korean hackers have exploited the Bybit exchange, stealing a whopping $1.4 billion worth of Ethereum.

Also, Bitcoin maxis seem to be trolling Ethereum’s leader Vitalik Buterin as they are spreading an identical tweet about “discussing the best way to roll back Ethereum” with him.

Meanwhile, other large crypto exchanges, including Binance, have rushed to help the suffering platform and are sending tens of millions of dollars in ETH to Bybit.

Samson Mow proposes Ethereum rollback

Mow, who has often criticized Ethereum and called it centralized, along with other Bitcoin maxis, such as Max Keiser, has published several consecutive tweets to comment on the situation with Bybit, which suffered one of the biggest hacks in the crypto space's history.

Samson tweeted that he fully supports rolling back Ethereum (once again, he points out) so that the stolen ETH can be returned to Bybit. He also said that the stolen funds may be used to finance the North Korean nuclear weapons program, and Mow doesn’t want that to happen.

He and another BTC maxi, @SolveMaxwell, published the same tweet, saying they and Vitalik Buterin are discussing the best options to roll back Ethereum. “It’s best for everyone to stop trading ETH,” the tweet urges X readers. The tweet also mentions the non-existent but perhaps potential ETH-based version called ETHNK (NK stands for North Korea), which will remain after Buterin rolls back Ethereum and “cancels” the stolen $1.4 billion worth of crypto.

Mow also suggested the following: “While we roll back, this is also an opportunity to adjust EIP-1559 to correct the deflationary burn mechanism.”

Exchanges support Bybit with ETH

The first Ethereum rollback mentioned by Mow took place in 2016 when the Ethereum DAO was hacked and 3.6 million ETH worth $50 million back then was stolen. As a result of that hard fork, the Ethereum Classic (ETC) chain emerged. This coin is also mentioned in the tweets shared by Mow and @SolveMaxwell.

Leading exchanges have responded and began sending liquidity to Bybit — Binance, MEXC and Bitget. According to Colin Wu, they have transferred 50,000 ETH, 12,652 stETH and 64,452 ETH as loans to support it.

According to an X post by crypto analyst Ali Martinez, Bitcoin (BTC) is witnessing a decline in sell-side pressure, indicating that a local market bottom may soon form for the premier cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin Local Bottom On The Horizon?

Bitcoin continues to trade just below the psychologically significant $100,000 level, hovering at $98,650 at the time of writing. However, the top cryptocurrency by market capitalization is witnessing a notable drop in sell-side pressure.

Martinez shared the following Bitcoin Sell-Side Risk Ratio chart from crypto analytics platform Glassnode, highlighting a sharp decline in the metric since mid-January 2025. This drop suggests that BTC may be forming a local price bottom, potentially leading to a new accumulation phase.

For those unfamiliar, a declining sell-side risk ratio typically indicates that investors are holding onto their BTC rather than selling, signalling the early stages of an accumulation phase where prices may stabilize or begin to rise.

Martinez’s analysis aligns with broader crypto market cycle theories, which suggest that market bottoms are often followed by an accumulation phase. This phase, in turn, paves the way for a potential price increase.

However, BTC must hold above key support levels to confirm this outlook. Crypto analyst Rekt Capital weighed in on Bitcoin’s price action, emphasizing the importance of a weekly close above $97,000 to maintain its higher low as support.

The analyst shared a Bitcoin weekly chart, noting that while BTC has seen multiple wicks below its symmetrical triangle structure, the overall bullish pattern remains intact. However, failure to close above $97,000 on the weekly timeframe could increase the risk of further downside.

Similarly, fellow analyst Daan Crypto Trades shared a bullish perspective, pointing out that BTC recently had a “solid break” from a descending channel structure. The analyst added:

Is BTC Primed For A New All-Time High?

While Martinez suggests that BTC may be forming a local bottom, other analysts believe the cryptocurrency is gearing up for a move beyond $108,000, potentially reaching a new all-time high (ATH). Analyst Kevin, for instance, predicts that a short squeeze could propel BTC to $111,000.

Similarly, recent analysis by Rekt Capital highlights that BTC is showing early signs of a bullish divergence which could break the digital asset’s bearish price momentum. At press time, BTC trades at $98,650, up 0.1% in the past 24 hours.