Bitcoin’s weekend took a wrong turn in the past 12 hours or so as the asset plunged below $100,000 for the first time since the Monday crash.

As expected, the altcoins have turned red as well, with substantial losses from the likes of LINK, SOL, AVAX, DOGE, and others.

Recall that the primary cryptocurrency had a strong end for the business week and, subsequently, the month, as its price stood above $105,000 and even challenged $106,000 on a couple of occasions.

However, the bears stepped up and didn’t allow a surge toward a new all-time high. Just the opposite, BTC slumped on Friday evening and Saturday morning to $102,000.

It maintained that level for most of Saturday but started to lose traction again in the past several hours. As a result, it dropped to $99,000, which became its lowest levels since the Monday correction that pushed it below $98,000.

As of now, the cryptocurrency stands about a grand higher and is striving to return within six-digit territory.

However, the altcoins have suffered a lot more, with SOL, DOGE, LINK, AVAX, LTC, and HYPE dumping by almost double-digits. Even more painful declines come from the likes of VIRTUAL (-19%), TAO (-15%), RAY (-13%), LDO (-13%), GALA (-13%), and TRUMP (-13%).

This enhanced volatility has led to more than $500 million in liquidations over the past day, and the number is north of $400 million within the last 12 hours alone. Nearly 250,000 traders have been wrecked on a 24-hour scale. The single-largest liquidation order took place on Binance. It was worth close to $12 million.

Spanish law enforcement, in partnership with blockchain firms Tron, Tether, and TRM Labs, has frozen $26.4 million in cryptocurrency linked to a money laundering network operating across Europe.

The operation was carried out by the T3 Financial Crime Unit, an initiative formed in August 2024 by the three companies to combat illicit financial activities.

The T3 FCU’s Operation

Justin Sun admitted in an X post that the operation highlights that “Criminals are drawn to the same features that make blockchain revolutionary — speed, efficiency, and borderless transactions.”

However, he emphasized that by freezing over $26 million through coordinated efforts with law enforcement, Tron’s transparency ultimately makes money laundering more difficult, not easier.

According to a press release, the probe into the money laundering operation relied on police surveillance to uncover the criminal organization. Authorities also used various investigative techniques and Know Your Customer (KYC) records from virtual asset service providers to successfully link several crypto wallets to illegal activities.

“This organization moved millions across borders, using both cash and crypto to help criminal groups launder their profits,” a spokesperson for Spain’s Guardia Civil stated.

This latest action is the largest asset freeze conducted by T3 FCU so far, adding to the $100 million in frozen funds since its creation. The unit, established in August 2024, collaborates with global law enforcement agencies to disrupt criminal activities that rely on blockchain transactions.

Tron Reduced Illicit Transactions by $6B

On the other hand, security measures on the Tron network have reportedly reduced illicit transaction volumes on the blockchain by $6 billion. Analysis from TRM Labs shows that 49% of prohibited activity on the blockchain is linked to sanctioned entities, while 32% involves blacklisted funds.

Despite these reductions, the network remains the most used for illegal transactions, accounting for 58% of criminal activity in the sector. Tether’s USDT stablecoin remains the preferred asset for unlawful financial movements.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that the operation highlighted blockchain’s role in combating illicit activities. He reaffirmed the commitment to protecting the financial system by working with global law enforcement to dismantle criminal networks.

 “Let this serve as a clear warning—criminals who attempt to misuse Tether will get caught,” he said.

Ardoino added that the stablecoin issuer has cooperated with more than 220 law enforcement agencies in 51 countries, freezing over 2,400 addresses holding a total of $2.2 billion.

In November 2023, the company froze $225 million worth of USDT linked to a global romance scam known as “pig butchering.” The following month, it also locked 161 Ethereum wallets, 11 of which contained over $3.5 million in USDT.

TL:DR;

• The entire crypto market turned red on Sunday morning, but some altcoins were hit harder than others.
• XRP’s price decline came just hours after a warning by a popular analyst that whales have started to sell off their holdings.

The third-largest cryptocurrency failed to go into uncharted territory a few weeks back, and it was stopped 1% away from its 2018 all-time high of $3.4 (CoinGecko data). Since then, the asset has failed to resume its rally and actually slipped to $2.8 during the Monday correction.

Nevertheless, it turned the tables during the business week by reclaiming the coveted $3 line. Moreover, it jumped to a weekly high of $3.15 on Friday, but its progress was halted at that point.

It started to lose value gradually over the weekend but slumped hard in the past 12 hours or so alongside bitcoin and the rest of the alts. Its price fell to a 6-day low of $2.82, thus dropping by more than 8% on a daily scale from top to bottom.

Despite recovering some ground to almost $2.9 now, XRP is still over 5% down on the day. This correction for the cross-border token comes not only with the rest of the market but also following a strategy reversal by whales.

These large market participants were among the biggest propellers of XRP’s surge since the elections by accumulating billions of dollars worth of the asset within months. Now, though, Ali Martinez showed that they have changed their tune and actually offloaded $70 million worth of XRP within a few days.

Whales are particularly important to the overall market movements as they have the ability to move it with their large purchases or sell-offs.

Whales have offloaded over 70 million $XRP in the past 96 hours! pic.twitter.com/qEe56f4Ujt

— Ali (@ali_charts) February 1, 2025