Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a sharp 3% decline at the onset of Asian trading, mirroring a broader downturn in stock markets and diminishing appetite for high-risk assets.
This follows Bitcoin surging past $68,000 while being propelled by continued inflows into Bitcoin spot exchange traded funds (ETFs). SoSoValue reported at the time:
The market has witnessed record net inflows exceeding $17 billion, indicating increased institutional interest and confidence in Bitcoin as an asset class.
CoinMarketCap data shows that the leading cryptocurrency’s price plummeted from $65,500 to approximately $64,000 within moments of Tokyo’s market opening. According to Coinglass data this abrupt fall triggered the liquidation of over $267 million in long positions over the last 24 hours, marking the most significant wipeout since early July.
Liquidations, which occur when exchanges forcibly close overleveraged trades due to margin depletion, can signal a market cleanse of excessive leverage. This often precedes a period of reduced price volatility.
Ethereum (ETH) traders suffered the heaviest losses, with $100 million in long positions liquidated as the token’s value dropped 7.5%, partly due to outflows from the recently launched ETH ETF.
World’s top cryptocurrency exchange Binance unsurprisingly led exchanges in liquidations at $118 million, predominantly affecting long positions. Asian-favored platforms OKX and Huobi saw up to 94% of their long trades liquidated.
Not just crypto
This crypto market turbulence coincided with a significant slump in U.S. tech stocks. The Nasdaq 100 index plunged 660 points on Wednesday, its steepest decline since 2022.
Disappointing quarterly reports from tech giants Alphabet and Tesla contributed to the downturn, with their shares dropping as much as 12%. Collectively, the “Magnificent 7” tech stocks lost over $750 billion in market value, a record single-day decline for the group.
The bearish sentiment spread to Asian markets, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling more than 3% early Thursday, amidst speculation about potential interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.
