The market reacted as long-term Bitcoin holders awakened to move billions of dollars’ worth of BTC over the weekend. A prominent market analyst highlighted this in a recent commentary on the back of an unexpected bearish turn of events for Bitcoin. The crypto leader’s short-lived push to $118,000 on Sunday sparked optimism, but BTC quickly retreated to a low of $114,750 today. Long-Term Bitcoin Holders Resurrect CryptoQuant analyst JA Maartunn, who shared this in an August 17 commentary, revealed that 3 to 5-year-old Bitcoin wallets reawakened from dormancy and moved a staggering 31,968 BTC ($3.7 billion) on August 16. This was a rare on-chain occurrence, as the Bitcoin Spent Output Age Band suggests, and is the first shift of that magnitude since June 2024. A similar move occurred on 23 March 2024, where this address bracket moved 95,090 BTC. This marked a local top for Bitcoin as it dropped from a new all-time high of $73,700 attained a few days earlier. On 22 June 2024, 43,641 BTC moved from these long-term holders, which added further selling pressure to the market following a consolidatory run. A similar shift happened on 30 July 2024, with a 29,994 BTC move marking a local top. Additionally, they transferred 23,012 BTC on 24 December 2024 after Bitcoin’s initial rally to six-figure values, which also marked a local top. As a result, he emphasized that the market would make a move after the August 16 development. Market Takes a Downward Turn Meanwhile, the market has taken a downward turn since the whale transactions, correcting 3% from a high of $118,624 to its current price of $115,053. This further adds to the distance between BTC and its new all-time high of $124,457. Notably, Bitcoin has been on a downtrend since the high last week, currently trading 7.5% away from there. Today’s correction has spiked liquidation to $576 million in the past 24 hours, as market observers point to overleveraging. Notwithstanding, some still insist the mid and long-term trajectory for Bitcoin remains positive. For instance, Canary Capital CEO Steven McClurg claimed that there is a 50% chance that Bitcoin will hit $150,000 this year.