Bitcoin shrugs off $9bn Galaxy dump with ‘barely a blip’

’Twas but a scratch.

Galaxy Digital confirmed it executed one of the largest Bitcoin sales in history on Friday, offloading more than 80,000 Bitcoin worth over $9 billion on behalf of a Satoshi-era investor.

But despite the staggering size of the transaction, the market barely flinched. Bitcoin prices dipped from around $118,000 to $115,000 before rebounding to pre-sale levels on Sunday.

Analysts say the absorption is a sign that Bitcoin has matured into a deep, liquid market capable of handling major exits without panic.

“The market absorbing 80,000 Bitcoin in days with barely a blip is a big deal — Bitcoin isn’t fragile,” Strike CEO Jack Mallers wrote on X. “It’s going to take orders of magnitude more to stop what’s coming.”

Even other major cryptocurrencies barely reacted. Ethereum has rebounded to trade higher than it was before the sale, while XRP is down just 1% from its price on Friday.

Still, not everyone was impressed with how the sale was handled.

“Why is someone selling $9 billion in one shot?” asked Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas on X. “The slippage cost is probably insane.”

Slippage refers to the difference between the expected price of a trade and the actual execution price. It’s a major risk when large orders are dumped on public exchanges rather than sold gradually.

Early Bitcoin developer and Blockstream CEO Adam Back was even more blunt: “Why so clumsy — no OTC, no TWAP?” he wrote, referring to over-the-counter desks and time-weighted average price strategies, which are often used to avoid tanking the market.

“Probably hedged to at least recover the price drop they caused.”

Crypto market movers

• Bitcoin has gained 0.6% in value over the past 24 hours and is trading at $118,150.
• Ethereum is also up 0.6% in the same period to $3,770.

What we’re reading

• BlackRock’s crypto chief just jumped ship for Ethereum’s second-biggest treasury company — DL News
• Finding the next MSTR — Milk Road
• GameSquare Buys Rare CryptoPunk NFT From Robert Leshner for $5.15 Million — Unchained
• LIBRA promoter Davis calls token a ‘memecoin’ in updated defence after suspicious transfers surface — DL News

Kyle Baird is DL News’ Weekend Editor. Got a tip? Email at kbaird@dlnews.com*.*

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