Bitcoin slips below $108,000 as dormant whale moves $8.6B worth of BTC after 14 years

Bitcoin (BTC) price slipped beneath the key $108,000 level on Friday as a startling on-chain movement of long-dormant coins sent shockwaves through the market.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD briefly touching $107,564 on Bitstamp before rebounding slightly. The flagship cryptocurrency is down about 1.6% on the day, following a rejection at the psychological $110,000 resistance level earlier this week.

The dip coincided with the sudden reactivation of 80,000 BTC, originally mined around 2010–2011, valued at over $8.6 billion at current prices. According to blockchain monitoring tool Lookonchain, the dormant coins were spread across eight wallets and moved on-chain after nearly 14 years of inactivity — suggesting a single whale or entity was behind the transfer.

Rumors and speculation swirl

The dramatic whale move set off a storm of speculation on social media, with some even questioning whether it might be linked to Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s elusive creator. Popular trader CryptoBeast floated the possibility of a Satoshi-related wallet stirring, though no concrete evidence supports this claim yet.

Meanwhile, trader account TheKingfisher noted a sharp spike in so-called toxic order flow — market activity that typically results in losses for liquidity providers — and predicted a possible retracement:

“I’d expect it to retrace, maybe liquidate those high-leverage shorts,” TheKingfisher posted on X, pointing to the build-up of short liquidity below $108,000.

Heatmaps from CoinGlass revealed Bitcoin chewing through long positions while resistance levels above $110,000 continue to strengthen.

Bull run at risk?

Analysts remain divided on what this means for Bitcoin’s current bull cycle. Prominent trader Rekt Capital highlighted that BTC/USD may have lost a critical diagonal support trendline on the daily chart — a trendline that has held since the last all-time high of $112,000.

“Bitcoin is losing the diagonal for the moment,” Rekt Capital warned. “But if price closes back above it on the daily, it would simply be a volatile retest rather than a full breakdown. Today’s daily close will be pivotal.”

Many market watchers have identified $108,000 as a crucial level for bulls to defend to prevent further downside and keep the current uptrend intact.

As markets digest the implications of this mysterious whale activity — potentially signaling either profit-taking, internal transfers, or something more ominous — all eyes are now on Bitcoin’s ability to reclaim and hold above $108,000 going into the weekend.