Bitcoin continued its decline over the weekend, dropping an additional 7.7% in the last 24 hours to a daily low of $61,384, prompting a significant wave of leveraged liquidations on Saturday.
Market Turmoil: Bitcoin Plunges $4,500 in Three Hours
By 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, Bitcoin (BTC) dipped below the $62,000 threshold after hovering around $67,000 for most of the morning. The cryptocurrency experienced a 7.7% decrease within three hours, triggered by a flurry of panic selling starting at 1:00 p.m. Two-week statistics indicate Bitcoin has fallen 8.7% against the U.S. dollar, while trading volume soared to $41.63 billion throughout the day.
Liquidation Data: $167M in BTC Longs Wiped Out in One Hour
Hourly liquidations from long positions in Bitcoin alone saw $167.13 million erased. Saturday’s total liquidations across the cryptocurrency landscape neared the $1 billion mark again. At 4:15 p.m., the 24-hour liquidation tally stood at $697.07 million, with $598.91 million from long positions. By 4:25 p.m., bears pushed BTC’s price back under the $62,000 mark, triggering additional leveraged liquidations. Throughout the day, 219,299 traders faced liquidation.
Bearish Pressure Intensifies, Market Sentiment in Control
This spike in selling pressure could potentially push BTC prices even lower, perpetuating a cycle that hastens the decline. Often, such rapid sell-offs are driven more by emotional responses than by thoughtful analysis, leading more traders to sell off in a bid to minimize losses. Additionally, bears are likely to capitalize on this scenario. At 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, BTC was trading for $62,777 per coin on Bitstamp.