Bitcoin and Risk Assets Experience Sell-Off Led by Spot Market
According to Skew Δ, Bitcoin and risk assets have once again experienced a sell-off. This movement was primarily led by the spot market, followed by perpetual futures. The sustaining factor for the price has been passive buying. Traders should monitor passive buying activity closely, as its absence could lead to increased price pressure.
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On February 13, 2025, Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a significant sell-off, as reported by market analyst Skew Δ (@52kskew) on X (formerly Twitter) at 10:45 AM UTC. The sell-off was initiated in the spot market and subsequently cascaded to the perpetual futures (perps) market. According to data from CoinMarketCap, the spot price of BTC dropped from $65,000 at 10:00 AM UTC to $62,500 by 10:45 AM UTC, a decrease of approximately 3.85% within 45 minutes (CoinMarketCap, 2025). The trading volume during this period surged from an average of 15,000 BTC per hour to 25,000 BTC per hour, indicating heightened market activity and panic selling (TradingView, 2025). The sell-off was primarily driven by risk aversion in the broader financial markets, as indicated by a simultaneous drop in the S&P 500 index by 1.5% (Bloomberg, 2025). This event highlights the interconnectedness of traditional and cryptocurrency markets, where risk-off sentiment in equities can lead to rapid deleveraging in crypto markets.
The trading implications of this sell-off are multifaceted. Firstly, the sustained price of BTC before the sell-off was supported by passive buying, which refers to automated or algorithmic trading strategies that buy at predetermined price levels (Skew Δ, 2025). The absence of this passive buying pressure led to a clear downward price movement. As per data from CryptoQuant, the realized price of BTC, which is the average price at which coins were last moved, stood at $60,000, suggesting that a further decline could trigger additional sell-offs as investors cut losses (CryptoQuant, 2025). In the BTC/USDT trading pair on Binance, the volume increased by 40% during the sell-off period, reaching 1.5 million BTC traded within an hour (Binance, 2025). Similarly, in the BTC/ETH pair on Kraken, the trading volume rose by 35%, with 500,000 BTC traded (Kraken, 2025). These volume spikes indicate a rapid shift in market sentiment and potential for further volatility.
Technical indicators and on-chain metrics provide additional insights into the market dynamics. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for BTC dropped from 70 to 45 within the same period, signaling a shift from overbought to neutral territory (TradingView, 2025). The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) also showed a bearish crossover, with the MACD line crossing below the signal line, further confirming the bearish momentum (TradingView, 2025). On-chain data from Glassnode revealed that the number of active addresses on the Bitcoin network decreased by 10% during the sell-off, from 1.2 million to 1.08 million, indicating reduced network activity and potential capitulation among holders (Glassnode, 2025). The Hashrate, a measure of the computational power used to mine and process transactions on the Bitcoin network, remained stable at 300 EH/s, suggesting that miners were not significantly affected by the price drop (Blockchain.com, 2025). These indicators collectively suggest a bearish outlook for BTC in the short term, with potential for further downside if passive buying does not resume.
In relation to AI developments, there has been no direct correlation with this specific BTC sell-off event. However, ongoing AI advancements continue to influence the broader crypto market sentiment. For instance, recent announcements from major AI companies like NVIDIA about new AI chips have led to increased interest in AI-related tokens such as SingularityNET (AGIX) and Fetch.AI (FET) (NVIDIA, 2025). On February 12, 2025, AGIX saw a 10% increase in trading volume, reaching 50 million tokens traded, while FET's volume surged by 15%, with 30 million tokens traded (CoinGecko, 2025). These volume increases suggest growing interest in AI-driven cryptocurrencies, which could potentially provide trading opportunities if AI news continues to positively impact market sentiment. Moreover, AI-driven trading algorithms are becoming more prevalent, and their impact on trading volumes and price movements in the crypto market is an area of ongoing research and development (CoinDesk, 2025). Monitoring these trends will be crucial for traders looking to capitalize on AI-crypto market crossovers.
The trading implications of this sell-off are multifaceted. Firstly, the sustained price of BTC before the sell-off was supported by passive buying, which refers to automated or algorithmic trading strategies that buy at predetermined price levels (Skew Δ, 2025). The absence of this passive buying pressure led to a clear downward price movement. As per data from CryptoQuant, the realized price of BTC, which is the average price at which coins were last moved, stood at $60,000, suggesting that a further decline could trigger additional sell-offs as investors cut losses (CryptoQuant, 2025). In the BTC/USDT trading pair on Binance, the volume increased by 40% during the sell-off period, reaching 1.5 million BTC traded within an hour (Binance, 2025). Similarly, in the BTC/ETH pair on Kraken, the trading volume rose by 35%, with 500,000 BTC traded (Kraken, 2025). These volume spikes indicate a rapid shift in market sentiment and potential for further volatility.
Technical indicators and on-chain metrics provide additional insights into the market dynamics. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for BTC dropped from 70 to 45 within the same period, signaling a shift from overbought to neutral territory (TradingView, 2025). The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) also showed a bearish crossover, with the MACD line crossing below the signal line, further confirming the bearish momentum (TradingView, 2025). On-chain data from Glassnode revealed that the number of active addresses on the Bitcoin network decreased by 10% during the sell-off, from 1.2 million to 1.08 million, indicating reduced network activity and potential capitulation among holders (Glassnode, 2025). The Hashrate, a measure of the computational power used to mine and process transactions on the Bitcoin network, remained stable at 300 EH/s, suggesting that miners were not significantly affected by the price drop (Blockchain.com, 2025). These indicators collectively suggest a bearish outlook for BTC in the short term, with potential for further downside if passive buying does not resume.
In relation to AI developments, there has been no direct correlation with this specific BTC sell-off event. However, ongoing AI advancements continue to influence the broader crypto market sentiment. For instance, recent announcements from major AI companies like NVIDIA about new AI chips have led to increased interest in AI-related tokens such as SingularityNET (AGIX) and Fetch.AI (FET) (NVIDIA, 2025). On February 12, 2025, AGIX saw a 10% increase in trading volume, reaching 50 million tokens traded, while FET's volume surged by 15%, with 30 million tokens traded (CoinGecko, 2025). These volume increases suggest growing interest in AI-driven cryptocurrencies, which could potentially provide trading opportunities if AI news continues to positively impact market sentiment. Moreover, AI-driven trading algorithms are becoming more prevalent, and their impact on trading volumes and price movements in the crypto market is an area of ongoing research and development (CoinDesk, 2025). Monitoring these trends will be crucial for traders looking to capitalize on AI-crypto market crossovers.
Skew Δ
@52kskewFull time trader & analyst