Crypto markets came under fresh selling pressure late on May 19, with Bitcoin sliding back toward the $76,000 level and Ether briefly dropping below $2,100. After a sharp washout earlier in the day, the market failed to stabilize, and the late-session move added another round of downside pressure across major tokens.
Bitcoin and Ether both lose ground
During late trading, BTC turned lower again and moved closer to $76,000, a level that appeared to have limited spot buying support. ETH showed similar weakness and briefly lost the $2,100 psychological threshold. With the two largest cryptocurrencies falling at the same time, market sentiment remained fragile and price action stayed heavy.
$53 million in liquidations over four hours
According to CoinGlass, total crypto liquidations reached $53 million in the past four hours. Long positions made up the vast majority of that figure, with $45 million wiped out, or about 85% of the total. The data points to heavy losses for traders who tried to buy the dip after the earlier decline.
The liquidation breakdown suggests the move was not a mild pullback. A large concentration of long liquidations in a short window showed how quickly leveraged positions came under stress as spot prices kept falling. That also amplified volatility and gave sellers more control during the late-night session.
Market remains under pressure
The source report said the broader sell-off had yet to show clear signs of exhaustion. With BTC and ETH both testing key levels again, trading conditions remained tense, and any new negative catalyst could feed into another wave of short-term volatility. For now, attention is centered on whether major assets can hold support and whether liquidation pressure in derivatives continues to build.