Ethereum Sells Off for Sixth Straight Day

The cryptocurrency market remained in the red on Thursday, continuing a week-long selloff that has left many digital assets struggling to find support.

Bitcoin (BTC) dipped 2.5% to $60,200, while Ethereum (ETH) dropped 5.5% to $2,322. Solana (SOL) and Polkadot (DOT) also declined, losing 8% and 3%, respectively.

XRP has plunged by over 15% in the past 24 hours after the SEC said it would appeal against a court ruling that restricts its power to regulate the crypto market.

The sharp downturn has led to widespread leveraged liquidations. In the last 24 hours, more than 105,000 traders were liquidated for a whopping $298 million, according to CoinGlass data.

Where are the Bitcoin Whales?

Despite the ongoing market sell-off, Bitcoin whales — those holding large amounts of BTC — have remained relatively inactive. Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, noted that whales haven't accumulated enough unrealized profits to consider offloading their holdings yet.

“The older whales haven’t seen particularly high returns, and the whales who entered in this recent bull run have barely made any profits,” he tweeted. “They are unlikely to dump on exchanges until liquidity from retail investors starts flowing in, imo.”

According to Young Ju, newer Bitcoin whales, who have held their assets for up to five months, would only realize a 1% profit if they decided to sell now. He added that while older whales have performed slightly better, their returns haven't been particularly high during the current market cycle.

Historically, October has been a strong month for Bitcoin, especially during bull cycles and halving years like 2024.

AI Tokens Plummet

Artificial intelligence (AI) and big data-related tokens have also shed over $4.8 billion in market capitalization over the past two days.

Among the leading AI tokens, Near Protocol (NEAR) experienced the steepest fall, plunging 17% in the past seven days. Other AI tokens like Bitensor (TAO) and Internet Computer (ICP) also recorded substantial losses, falling 14% and 8%, respectively. Meanwhile, Render (RNDR) dropped 14%, and Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) tanked by 17%.

The broader financial markets aren't faring much better.

Stock markets dipped slightly on Wednesday ahead of September's payroll report, due Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 fell 0.35% and 0.25%, respectively. Rising tensions in the Middle East after Iran’s latest missile attacks on Israel have contributed to the ongoing market volatility.