The crypto market saw a sharp decline, with over $1 billion in leveraged positions liquidated as Bitcoin (BTC) dropped to around $117,000. Data from CoinGlass reveals that most of these liquidations came from long positions, amounting to about $856.66 million. This suggests that bullish traders were caught off guard by the sudden price drop.
Leveraged Traders Suffer Losses
The liquidations were widespread across major cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, OKX, Huobi, Bybit, and BitMEX. Long positions across all crypto assets lost over $930 million in 24 hours, while short positions lost $163.45 million. Notably, nearly 80% of all traders were affected within 12 hours.
The global cryptocurrency market stood at $3.8 trillion, with a 3.10% decrease over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, had a market capitalization of $2.34 trillion, with its price hovering around $117,557.50. Other major cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum (ETH) and XRP, also experienced significant price fluctuations.
Bitcoin’s current price is $117,557.50, with a 0.76% increase over the last day. The cryptocurrency’s price has been volatile, with analysts warning of potential pullbacks. Despite the turmoil, some analysts remain optimistic, framing the recent dip as standard behavior during a bull market.
However, investors’ sentiment may be influenced by speculation surrounding potential regulatory changes and economic shifts. The Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rates could also impact the crypto market, with some analysts predicting increased liquidity and global interest in cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase Launches Perpetuals in the U.S.
Notably, Coinbase wants to welcome more leveraged traders into the market. The company recently launched perpetual futures trading for United States-based customers, offering up to 10x leverage and fees as low as 0.02%. The platform, regulated by the CFTC, allows traders to hold positions without monthly expirations, except after five years. Starting with nano Bitcoin and Ether perpetual futures, this move aims to make derivatives trading more accessible to a broader range of traders.
A few weeks earlier, it was reported that the United States government transferred over $220,000 worth of Ethereum (ETH) to Coinbase. The transaction sparked concerns about a potential price drop. The transaction involved a test transfer of $10 followed by 86.564 ETH worth $219,450. The seized crypto came from Chase Senecal, an NFT scammer caught in 2022. The government holds around 60,000 ETH, valued at millions, and past large transfers have triggered market sell-offs.