Bitcoin Plummets After Galaxy Digital’s $1.18B BTC Fire Sale—Here’s Why It Matters

Whale alert: Bitcoin's price tanks as institutional players hit the sell button. Hard.

Galaxy Digital just unloaded a jaw-dropping $1.18 billion in BTC—equivalent to roughly 20,000 coins at current prices—in a single trading session. The move sent shockwaves through crypto markets, proving once again that when Wall Street sneezes, retail gets pneumonia.

Market watchers are scrambling to decode the sell-off. Some see strategic profit-taking after Bitcoin's 2025 rally, while others whisper about leverage unwinding. Either way, it's a stark reminder that crypto's 'decentralized' dream still dances to big money's tune.

Funny how billion-dollar dumps always happen right when the little guy starts feeling bullish again. Almost like clockwork.

Bitcoin Experiences Sharp Decline Following Sales

Galaxy Digital’s high-volume Bitcoin transactions coincided with a 2.45% drop in Bitcoin’s market value within 24 hours. The cryptocurrency fell from $118,500 to $115,134, although it showed minor signs of recovery shortly afterward. The rapid sale caused a temporary shock in market sentiment and volume.

Note that #GalaxyDigital has deposited over 10,000 $BTC($1.18B) to exchanges in the past 8 hours!

The 10,000+ $BTC comes from the Bitcoin OG holding 80,009 $BTC($9.68B).https://t.co/qaSj0NKwmD pic.twitter.com/09XEqB6VGg

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 25, 2025

The bitcoin supply originated from a whale address reportedly dormant since the Satoshi era. Blockchain analytics platforms tracked the wallet movements to Galaxy Digital starting in mid-July. The whale first moved 40,000 BTC on July 15 and transferred the remaining amount two days later.

Galaxy Digital began gradually offloading the Bitcoin since the initial transfer to limit market impact. On Thursday, it executed one of the largest daily sales in months. The company used multiple centralized exchanges to distribute the volume efficiently.

Galaxy Digital’s Activity Triggers Market Liquidations

The broader crypto market saw significant Leveraged position liquidations alongside Galaxy Digital’s sales. In total, $647.35 million in positions were liquidated within 24 hours, affecting Bitcoin and altcoins. Ethereum and Bitcoin traders bore the highest losses, each nearing $152 million.

Solana also faced sharp liquidations amounting to $47.73 million during the same period. XRP followed with $42.15 million in liquidations, and Dogecoin traders lost $27.41 million. These figures highlighted the extent of volatility triggered by the Bitcoin dump.

Galaxy Digital’s role in the selloff was evident from blockchain tracking data provided by Arkham and Lookonchain. The market reacted strongly to the unexpected scale of the dump. Analysts noted the synchronized timing between the transactions and market downturn.

Altcoins Underperform as Galaxy Digital Sells Bitcoin

Altcoins showed even weaker performance compared to Bitcoin following Galaxy Digital’s actions. Solana dropped 2.83% while dogecoin lost 2.51% in market value. XRP declined toward the $3 level, marking one of its lowest points in recent weeks.

Selling pressure was reflected across the board as traders reduced exposure. Altcoins with smaller market caps recorded steeper losses than Bitcoin. Galaxy Digital’s Bitcoin offloading intensified this pressure on riskier assets.