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“A censored regime holding censorship-resistant money feels unlikely,” wrote CryptoQuant’s CEO.
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The Chinese government has likely sold its nearly $20-billion Bitcoin stack, contributing to significant sell pressure for the world’s first cryptocurrency.
China’s treasury sold over $19.7 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) leading up to Jan. 23, according to Ki Young Ju, founder and CEO of the blockchain analytics platform CryptoQuant.
The crypto, seized from PlusToken in 2019, was likely sent to cryptocurrency exchanges such as Huobi, wrote Ju in a Jan. 23 X post:
“China sold 194K Bitcoin already, [in my opinion]. […] The CCP said it was ‘transferred to the national treasury’ without clarifying if it was sold.”
Bitcoin: PlusToken Reserve Analysis. Source: CryptoQuant
“A censored regime holding censorship-resistant money feels unlikely,” he added.
The large-scale selling comes over four years after Chinese authorities seized $4.2 billion worth of crypto from the PlusToken Ponzi scheme, which has led to the arrest of at least 109 individuals so far.
Related: Corporate execs sell stock at record levels as Bitcoin nears 130% YTD returns
Bitcoin unfazed by $20-billion sale
Bitcoin remained above the $101,000 mark on Jan. 23 despite the near $20-billion sale.
BTC/USD, 1-month chart. Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro
However, BTC’s price fell over 3.7% in the 24 hours leading up to 12:22 am UTC, Cointelegraph Markets Pro data shows.
Bitcoin’s resilience is partly thanks to continued purchases from the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, which has been acquiring Bitcoin for five consecutive trading days, Farside Investors data shows.
Bitcoin ETF Flow (USD, million). Source: Farside Investors
Notably, BlackRock’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) bought $600 million worth of Bitcoin on Jan. 21, which marks its biggest buy of the year, according to Arkham Intelligence data.
BlackRock Bitcoin acquisition. Source: Arkham Intelligence
Related: $36T US debt ceiling signals Bitcoin correction after Trump inauguration
Meanwhile, Bitcoin remains sensitive to economic developments in the absence of news regarding US crypto regulation.
Concerns over tightening monetary policy will continue pressuring Bitcoin’s price, according to Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research.
The analyst told Cointelegraph:
“A recent dip and concerns over potential global interest rate hikes have created short-term bearish sentiment; however, institutional buying, particularly from World Liberty Finance, may stabilize prices.”
Target interest rate probabilities. June 18. Source: CME Group
Markets are now expecting the next US interest rate cut to occur on June 18, according to the latest estimates of the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Magazine: Plus Token’s $1.3B ETH could be sold, ‘Crypto King’ arrested: Asia Express
This article first appeared at Cointelegraph.com News
