Bitcoin continued its downward spiral over the weekend, falling an additional 7.7% in the last 24 hours to hit a daily low of $61,384 per coin, sparking a wave of leveraged liquidations on Saturday. By 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the leading cryptocurrency had slipped below the $62,000 threshold after hovering around $67,000 for most of the morning session. The abrupt sell-off erased $4,500 in value within three hours before a partial recovery.
Weekend Selloff Details
The selling pressure began around 1:00 p.m. ET, accelerating over three hours as panic selling drove Bitcoin from $67,000 to the mid-$62,000 range. Despite attempts to reclaim $63,000, bears pushed prices back under $62,000 by 4:25 p.m., triggering additional leveraged liquidations. Two-week statistics show Bitcoin has declined 8.7% against the U.S. dollar, while daily trading volume surged to $41.63 billion.
Leveraged Liquidation Wave
The selloff resulted in massive deleveraging across crypto derivatives markets. $167.13 million worth of Bitcoin long positions were liquidated in just one hour. By 4:15 p.m., the 24-hour liquidation tally across all cryptocurrencies reached $697.07 million, with $598.91 million from long positions. A total of 219,299 traders faced liquidation during the day. Such rapid deleveraging can create a self-reinforcing cycle, pushing prices even lower.
Market Sentiment and Outlook
Analysts note that fear-driven selling often prevails over rational analysis during sharp drops, leading more traders to exit positions to minimize losses. Short sellers are likely to take advantage of the weakness. At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $62,777 on Bitstamp, with uncertainty looming over the near-term direction. Market participants should remain cautious of further downside while monitoring potential oversold bounces.