The crypto market has experienced major volatility over the past 24 hours, causing even whales to lose confidence. OG whales have dumped Solana, AAVE, and ASTER, moving over $120M in assets to exchanges.

The cryptocurrency market is in a bloodbath after recording a 5% decline overall. This has brought the market cap down to $3.5 trillion from an all-time high of over $4.3 trillion. Solana, Aave, and Aster all contributed to the fall, with double-digit percentage declines of 19%, 26%, and 32%, respectively, over the last 7 days.

As a result, investors decided to book profits as equity market fears weighed on confidence in crypto assets. 

The coordinated whale dump across different wallets

The sell-off is widespread across asset types. According to blockchain data, a Solana whale that had previously successfully traded meme coins sold 61,845 SOL, worth approximately $11.5 million, over four hours on Thursday.

Another whale who nearly faced liquidation in April while using a looped borrow strategy to go long on AAVE has now opted to sell. According to on-chain analytics platform Arkham, over eight hours, the whale sold 88,227 AAVE worth $19.8 million to repay all outstanding loans and exit the leveraged position.

Additionally, a whale that previously held 64.535 million ASTER has been systematically transferring its holdings to the Binance exchange. In the past week alone, he moved 58.608 million ASTER, worth $92.25 million. In fact, he appears to be nearing a full exit.

Also, an entity that participated in the World Liberty Financial public sale and later accumulated Aster has now transferred its 8.282 million token holding back to Bybit. With the recent market volatility and extended downtrend, the Aster whales have an unrealized loss of more than $5 million.

To that end, the coordinated selling across different wallets and assets suggests that whales are lowering their risk, taking profits where available, and cutting losses where necessary, underscoring the persistent risk-off sentiment.

Meanwhile, Solana has seen an 8.4% decline in the last 24 hours, now trading at $179.09. Aave is down 16%, now trading at $203.28. Aster is down 19%, now trading at $1.07.

The crypto market crash fuel

This week’s downturn wasn’t just another random dip. It came on the heels of escalating trade tensions between the US and China, after renewed tariff threats rattled global markets. Stocks fell, commodities softened, and crypto, which often reacts first to macroeconomic uncertainty, followed suit.

However, while global news played its part, deeper reasons for the crypto crash also surfaced. Many traders were over-leveraged, betting heavily on continued rallies. Once prices slipped, automatic liquidations triggered a cascade of sell-offs. Billions in futures positions were wiped out in hours – a reminder that volatility in digital assets remains one of its defining traits.

Market sentiment also took a hit from fears over tighter regulation, profit-taking after a strong quarter, and algorithmic trading amplifying every move. 

Additionally, delays in crypto ETF approvals due to the ongoing US government shutdown contributed to the crypto market crash today. Key applications for Solana and XRP ETFs remain stalled, which has affected investor confidence. This delay weighed on institutional sentiment, which was already weakened by outflows from Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.

Data showed a surge in ETF outflows this week, signaling weak demand among large investors. “ETF outflows suggest a lack of sustained buying interest,” noted analyst Carol Lim. This further eroded market stability and pushed cryptocurrencies lower throughout the session.

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