The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen sharply since the beginning of February 2026, and rose last week. Yesterday, February 5th, Bitcoin hit $60,000, marking a 22% decline in seven days and dropping to a level that was lower than the 2021 all-time high of the previous bull cycle.
In this regard, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Yong-joo warned that if the buying momentum does not return in the coming weeks, the risk of a large-scale chain sell-off by institutional investors will increase significantly.
The executive explained that financial institutions typically operate based on clearly defined risk criteria with a long-term perspective.Therefore, large-scale withdrawal usually does not occur impulsively.
“Unless it’s a forced sale, it’s hard to imagine financial institutions giving up so much supply at once,” Zhu said via social network X, suggesting such surrenders would be more responsive to liquidity pressures than simple portfolio adjustments.
The real danger, according to CryptoQuant’s CEO, is that once financial institutions capitulate near the market bottom, they are unlikely to jump back into Bitcoin quickly. Unlike retail investors, these players need stability, a positive story and clear signs of recovery in order to redeploy capital. “It will take a long time to regain trust,” he warned.
Sale of Reservations and/or Abandonment of Business
Mr. Zhu also warned of the domino effect forced sales would create on the ecosystem. As funds are liquidated and prices continue to fallpressure will increase on miners, and some may be forced to sell reserves or abandon operations. This process will also hold back retail investors who resisted the decline, forcing them to cut their losses.
“Honestly, absent a significant rally at these levels over the next month, the risk of structural and cascading sales to institutional investors increases significantly,” the CryptoQuant CEO concluded.
If this scenario materializes, institutional capitulation could delay a sustained recovery in Bitcoin prices by several months and represent a negative turning point for the current market cycle.
It is worth clarifying that the scenario proposed by the businessman is currently hypothetical. So far, there is no information that large companies or institutional investors are selling their Bitcoin holdings.