BTC 15-minute sharp decline of 0.34%: Whales accelerate transfer to exchanges, short-term liquidation pressure triggers selling

From 13:15 to 13:30 (UTC) on April 29, 2026, BTC saw a brief dip of -0.34% within 15 minutes. The price retreated back into the 76873.8–77249.5 USDT range, with a fluctuation of 0.49%. On-chain data shows that during this period, trading activity was at a high level—total transfer volume over the past 24 hours reached 832,991.73 BTC, and large transfer volumes were particularly significant.

The main driver behind this market move was that whales accelerated the transfer of funds into exchanges. The All Exchanges Whale Ratio (EMA14) rose to a ten-month high, and the share of the top ten inflows increased sharply. This indicates that large BTC holders, during the price pullback phase, concentrated their transfers into exchanges, demonstrating a clear short-term profit-taking intent. Since the beginning of 2026, whales have continued to accelerate their inflows into exchanges. In April, this indicator remained on an upward trend, showing a structural pattern similar to the 2022 market adjustment period.

Second, exchange internal transfer volume reached 420,690 BTC within 10 minutes. Large transfers (over $1 million) totaled approximately $4.46 billion, with a significantly increased share, suggesting active flows of funds from institutions or large holders. Although the total BTC balance on exchanges declined overall in late April, the proportion of whale inflows rose, indicating that some large holders have short-term profit-taking intent. When the market’s ability to absorb selling pressure weakens, it can more easily trigger price anomalies. Meanwhile, BTC repeatedly met resistance in the $70,000–$94,000 range, and buyer strength was not sufficient to fully absorb the sell pressure from whales.

In the short term, key focus should be on the $70,000 critical support level and on-chain whale fund flow direction. If whales continue to reduce their holdings, it may increase downward pullback pressure. Users should be alert to the risks of short-term volatility, and monitor the performance of key support levels as well as changes in on-chain fund flows.