# Bitcoin tanked hard yesterday, and so far hasn't shown many signs of turning around yet

Bitcoin broke through a key support level yesterday by falling below $7k.

This likely triggered some stop loss selling, which also exacerbated the move.

But what started all the selling?

That likely had something to do with the PlusToken scam.

As I posted yesterday, that scam netted something like $2.9 billion and some of that has been making its way out into the markets.

https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@jrcornel/btc-price-tanks-but-whales-appear-to-be-buying-the-dip

In fact it likely has been responsible for much of this decline that started after bitcoin hit $14k this last summer.

It was likely no coincidence that bitcoin peaked on the same day that the founders of PlusToken were arrested in China.

# The decline due to the PlusToken scam unwind?

On chain analysis done by Chainalysis shows a correlation between coins originating from PlusToken being sent to OTC brokers around the same time of bitcoin price drops.

Check it out:

https://i.postimg.cc/ZRhTP9M4/5dee8bb6c810db4b0c1db0c9-b-IM-J4m-Nd-C3y-VRw-PJvt-P6hy-Uwi-OZAQr-JU1-Bc-Wgg.png

(Source: https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2019/12/17/bitcoin-cryptocurrency-price-dump-ponzi-scheme-plustoken/)

Keep in mind this is just the coins that are being sent to OTC brokers.

Much of the coins have gone through mixers to obfuscate their origins and likely made their way to exchanges as well.

# So, why yesterday?

It was interesting in that the news only started really getting pushed out there about PlusToken suspects dumping coins beginning yesterday...

My guess is that the scammers started to realize that the more this gets talked about the more likely they are to get caught so they panicked a bit and started trying to sell everything they could before they got caught.

This is evidenced by the fact much of their ill gotten gains was in bitcoin AND ether, and interestingly enough it was ether selling that kick started things yesterday.

Large sells starting going off in ether minutes before the bitcoin selling began.

Hmmm.....

https://i.postimg.cc/25Qx9h36/EL7d-Jh-TUUAA58-DP.jpg

(Source: https://twitter.com/HsakaTrades/status/1206644916035538947)

Hopefully the selling is mostly done at this point, though it's tough to say for sure.

I know from what I read yesterday that at least half of the known ill gotten gains had already been sold, meaning that left, at most, the other half, most of which has now moved in the past 24 hours.

Here's to hoping for some reprieve!

Stay informed my friends.

-Doc