Crypto Market Crash: How corporate investors $58B move after Trump Inauguration triggered Bitcoin price dip

Bitcoin’s price dipped as low as $98,500 on Monday, its lowest in 12 days since January 15. On-chain data trends show how whale investors’ strategic moves after Donald Trump’s inauguration may have triggered the crypto market crash. 

Bitcoin price plunges 6% to hit 12-day low

Bitcoin experienced a sharp retracement after multiple bullish events surrounding Trump’s inauguration propelled the crypto markets to euphoric highs. During the inauguration, Bitcoin briefly reached a new all-time high of $109,000 on January 20, before retreating to find support at the $105,000 level for most of the week.

Bitcoin Price Action

Many enthusiasts, who had anticipated that prolonged consolidation at $105,000 could evolve into a major breakout above $110,000, were disappointed when markets turned negative with the opening of United States (US) trading on Monday.

As illustrated in the chart below, Bitcoin's price plummeted 6% over the last 24 hours, hitting a 12-day low of $98,522.

Whales cut Bitcoin demand by $58 Billion after Trump’s inauguration

Recent market reports indicate that the broader downtrend was triggered by investor concerns over AI sector valuations.

This follows the launch of Deepseek, a cost-effective large language model by China-based developers, which disrupted the valuation structures of major AI firms.

On-chain data reveals that large corporate investors significantly reduced their short-term exposure to Bitcoin, likely in anticipation of heightened volatility under Trump’s presidency.

Supporting this trend, IntoTheBlock’s Large Transactions Volume chart below tracks the dollar value of transactions exceeding $100,000, providing a window into corporate trading activity around significant market events.

Bitcoin Large Transactions vs. BTC Price | Source: IntoTheBlock

The chart highlights that on January 20, Bitcoin network whale transactions peaked at $98.3 billion, driven by the inauguration euphoria.

However, as media speculated on Trump’s memes and policy updates, whales promptly scaled back their BTC trading activity.

Since the market peaked on January 20, the volume of large transactions has dropped to $40.9 billion, according to IntoTheBlock’s most recent data updated on Sunday.

Similarly, BTC Large Holder Netflows have also declined since Thursday, with a 566 BTC ($55.5 million) whale sell-off observed 48 hours before the market crash began on Monday. 

Bitcoin consolidated above $103,000 throughout Trump’s first week in office. His administration’s initial days were marked by strategic moves, including the launch of $TRUMP and MELANIA meme tokens, Gary Gensler’s official departure from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), WLFI’s acquisitions and an executive order establishing Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

While these external catalysts sparked positive sentiment among retail traders, none fundamentally improved the underlying network value of major cryptocurrencies.

The $58 billion decline in whale transactions suggests that many corporate investors scaled back their Bitcoin exposure after Trump’s inauguration, likely anticipating the risks of a market correction.

Bitcoin price prediction: Rebound hopes alive if $97,500 support holds

On the bright side, with many corporate investors having evidently avoided the majority of the $860 million liquidation downside on Monday, there could be a lot of whale capital sitting on the sidelines waiting to find strategic re-entry opportunities around the currently falling prices. 

Emphasizing this stance technical indicators on the BTCUSD daily chart present consolidation signals. 

The recent bearish momentum, highlighted by the two consecutive red candles, shows a 6.28% decline in two days, with the price currently at $99,814.97.

The Parabolic SAR dots above the price action signal a bearish trend continuation unless the price reclaims $109,588, the nearest resistance level.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 48.75 shows a neutral-to-weak position, indicating a lack of strong buying momentum but not yet oversold conditions.

A bullish rebound could emerge if the $97,500 support level holds, as historical bounces from this level have often attracted.

If this scenario plays out, BTC could potentially reclaim $103,260 to confirm the start of another bullish market phase. 

Conversely, a bearish continuation would occur if $97,500 fails to hold.

A break below this support could trigger accelerated selling, targeting $94,000 or lower, as the RSI dips into bearish territory, signaling oversold conditions.