The crypto market took a nosedive recently, with Bitcoin and Ethereum plummeting over 20%. This massive sell-off was fueled by a combination of factors, including a disappointing jobs report and concerns about the Federal Reserve’s inaction.
A Market in Turmoil
The crypto market lost over $600 billion in value, with the total market cap dropping from $2.5 trillion to $1.9 trillion. This was the biggest loss since 2022.
Market makers like Wintermute described the plunge as “unexpected” and attributed it to the jobs report. They also pointed to over $1 billion in liquidations and a $57 billion decline in altcoin market capitalization.
One notable player in the sell-off was Jump Trading, a Chicago-based firm that had been a major player in crypto but scaled back due to recent collapses and regulatory scrutiny.
Sun’s Ethereum Shopping Spree
Amidst this market chaos, attention turned to Justin Sun, the founder of the TRON blockchain. Reports surfaced of a suspicious address linked to Sun buying 16,236 ETH with 37 million USDT stablecoin.
This address, created just three hours before the purchase, allegedly withdrew 38 million USDT from the HTX exchange before acquiring the ETH tokens. The address’s behavior mirrored previous ETH purchases by Sun, leading many to believe it belonged to him.
Sun already holds over 700,000 ETH, and recent data shows he lost around $280 million as Ethereum’s value dropped. Despite this, he has denied rumors of liquidation. In a social media post, he stated that he rarely engages in leveraged trading and prefers to support the industry through staking, running nodes, and working on projects.
Ethereum Rebounds
Since the initial dip, Ethereum has managed to bounce back to the $2,460 level. Trading volume has also surged, with a 346% increase over the past 24 hours, reaching $76 billion.
