The cryptocurrency market experienced almost $1 billion in liquidations within a mere 24 hours due to turbulent developments. What is the main impetus? Bitcoin price’s significant decline beneath the $100,000 threshold, a figure that previously appeared unattainable for several individuals.
The substantial wave of liquidations triggered a significant decline in key altcoins, which mirrored the fears of an unstable market that many had warned about for months.
Extensive Liquidations Throughout Bitcoin Market
A lot of buyers weren’t ready for Bitcoin’s price to drop so quickly. Long accounts lost the most when Bitcoin fell, and they made up a big part of all the liquidations.
About 406,000 traders have sold almost $1.2 billion worth of assets in the last day, with $920 million in long sales and $260 million in short sales, according to CoinGlass.
Many traders were taken off guard by the drop in Bitcoin’s price. Long holdings suffered the most as Bitcoin sank, which greatly added to the overall liquidations. Not immune were other cryptocurrencies including Ether, Cardano, and Dogecoin. They suffered clear losses as they tracked Bitcoin’s fall.
theres crypto top signs everywhere rn.
defo some nice charts around still but irregardless of that, i think we’re at the stage in the cycle where it would be prudent to take some chips off the table
— Bluntz (@Bluntz_Capital) January 19, 2025
The Bearish Trend Impacts Altcoins
Altcoins that had shown promise in the past also went down in value. For example, the uncertainty caused the price of XRP to drop a lot, which surprised many buyers. Traders were looking forward to momentum picking up, but this sudden decline has made them wonder about the market’s stability and the start of a long period of bearishness.
On X, cryptocurrency trader “Bluntz” said that “top signs everywhere.”
“I think we’re at the stage in the cycle where it would be prudent to take some chips off the table,” they added.
Market Sentiment Change Due To Price Declines
The shift in market mentality is very worrisome. Panic selling brought forth by the risk of additional losses caused the market to become unsure.
The market corrections of 2021, when investors quickly liquidated their holdings when sentiment abruptly worsened, were reminiscent of this steep collapse. Analysts now advise investors to remain cautious and keep a close tab on market indicators before placing their bet.
Bitcoin Hits New ATH
Meanwhile, ahead of Republican Donald Trump’s planned inauguration later in the day, Bitcoin (BTC) shot to a record high above $109,000 during Monday’s Asian trading hours. On Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency reached $109,335.
In a speech on Sunday, Trump cited the asset’s historic performance in addition to advances in the broader US stock market.
Featured image from WIRED, chart from TradingView