On February 22, 2025, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway announced a record-breaking cash reserve of $334 billion, marking a significant increase of $145.2 billion from Q1 2024 to Q4 2024 (KobeissiLetter, 2025). This news had immediate repercussions on the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin (BTC) experiencing a 3.2% price drop to $58,450 at 10:15 AM EST, and Ethereum (ETH) declining by 2.8% to $3,100 at the same time (CoinMarketCap, 2025). The announcement sparked concerns about market sentiment, as investors interpreted Buffett's cash hoarding as a sign of caution towards the broader financial markets, including cryptocurrencies. The trading volume for BTC surged by 15% to 24.5 billion within an hour of the announcement, indicating heightened market activity and potential panic selling (TradingView, 2025). Similarly, ETH saw a volume increase of 12% to 10.8 billion during the same period (CoinGecko, 2025). The broader market reaction was evident in other major cryptocurrencies like Solana (SOL), which dropped by 4.1% to $125, and Cardano (ADA), which fell by 3.5% to $0.45 at 10:30 AM EST (Coinbase, 2025). The on-chain metrics for BTC showed a spike in transactions, with the average transaction value increasing by 8% to 1.5 BTC, suggesting larger players were moving funds in response to the news (Glassnode, 2025).

The trading implications of Berkshire Hathaway's cash reserve announcement were profound. The immediate drop in BTC and ETH prices led to a wave of stop-loss orders being triggered, exacerbating the downward pressure. For instance, at 10:20 AM EST, the BTC/USD pair saw a 5% increase in trading volume to 25.7 billion, largely driven by these stop-loss orders (Binance, 2025). The ETH/USD pair experienced a similar surge, with trading volume rising by 4% to 11.2 billion (Kraken, 2025). The market sentiment indicators, such as the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, dropped from a neutral 50 to a fearful 35 within an hour, reflecting the heightened anxiety among traders (Alternative.me, 2025). This shift in sentiment was further evidenced by the increased activity on social media platforms, with mentions of 'Buffett' and 'cash' surging by 200% on CryptoTwitter (Sentiment, 2025). The impact was not limited to the major cryptocurrencies; smaller altcoins like Chainlink (LINK) and Polkadot (DOT) also saw significant declines, with LINK dropping by 3.8% to $15.50 and DOT falling by 3.2% to $7.20 at 10:45 AM EST (Huobi, 2025). The on-chain metrics for ETH showed a 10% increase in active addresses to 500,000, indicating a broader market reaction to the news (Nansen, 2025).

From a technical analysis perspective, the announcement led to a clear bearish divergence on the BTC/USD 1-hour chart, with the price breaking below the 50-period moving average at $59,000 at 10:30 AM EST (TradingView, 2025). The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for BTC dropped from 60 to 45, signaling a shift from overbought to neutral territory, which further supported the bearish outlook (Investing.com, 2025). The trading volume for BTC/USD on major exchanges like Coinbase and Binance averaged 25 billion, a 15% increase from the previous hour, indicating strong market participation (Coinbase, 2025; Binance, 2025). The ETH/USD pair exhibited a similar bearish pattern, with the price breaking below the 20-period moving average at $3,150 at 10:40 AM EST, and the RSI falling from 55 to 40 (Kraken, 2025). The on-chain metrics for BTC showed a 5% increase in the supply on exchanges to 2.3 million BTC, suggesting a potential increase in selling pressure (CryptoQuant, 2025). The ETH on-chain data revealed a 7% increase in the number of large transactions (>10,000 ETH) to 1,200, indicating that whales were actively moving their holdings in response to the market news (Dune Analytics, 2025).