#cryptonews
Bitcoin (BTC) is facing increased selling pressure as miners offload their holdings, contributing to recent price declines.
Data from CryptoQuant shows a surge in miner transfers to exchanges, particularly during price dips, indicating financial strain within the mining sector.
Rising operational costs, coupled with the Bitcoin halving event in April 2024, exacerbate this situation. The trend of increased miner-to-exchange flows began in September 2024 and peaked on Dec. 16, when these flows reached 11,365 BTC in a single day.
In February and early March, Bitcoin repeatedly dipped below $80,000, reaching a low of $76,807 on March 11 before a slight recovery to around $82,500 on March 12.
Concurrently, transaction fees experienced a 19% drop, indicating a decrease in network demand.
February presented significant challenges for Bitcoin miners, with overall monthly mining revenue declining by 11.5% to $1.24 billion.
The financial impact extended to publicly traded mining companies, with their stock values taking a substantial hit.
Bitdeer saw its shares plunge by 25%, while Cipher Mining’s shares fell by 17%, both companies reporting widening losses.
Adding to the strain, the mining difficulty increased by 2%, placing smaller mining operations under considerable pressure.
BitMex founder Arthur Hayes, via a March 11 post on X, delivered a stark warning, stating that Bitcoin could drop to $70,000 if this selling pressure persists.
Bitcoin faces increasing scrutiny as selling pressure continues to build, prompting analysts to warn that further declines are possible.
“This is a critical time when risk management, recognizing historical parallels, analyzing chart patterns, and closely monitoring market structure becomes essential,” Thielen wrote.
Markus Thielen, head of research at 10x Research, also issued a stark forecast, predicting Bitcoin’s price could slide to as low as $73,000.