Cryptocurrencies fell on Tuesday as futures in Asia fell, sparking a wave of liquidations on the Bybit exchange.
price Bitcoin Bitcoin was last down 6.2% at $59,504.68, according to Coin Metrics. ether Apple shares fell more than 8% to $2,457.61.
“Cryptocurrency markets have fallen sharply, leading to a leveraged liquidation. This move appears to have been triggered by a significant decline in Ethereum, which has struggled against Bitcoin all year,” said Stephen Lupka, head of private clients and family offices at Swan Bitcoin.
Bitcoin drops below $60,000
According to CoinGlass, the futures market saw $93.52 million in long liquidations of ether, which forces traders to sell their assets at market price to settle their debts, via centralized exchanges. About $85.93 million in liquidations occurred in Bitcoin.
“Leveraged buying is usually a great buying opportunity,” Lupka added. “While I expect markets to buy Bitcoin lower, Ethereum may continue to struggle until investors have reason to be bullish on the asset again.”
Over the year, Bitcoin is still up 39%, while Ethereum is holding on to a modest 7% gain.
“This is exactly the kind of flash liquidation and price action we see in bull markets,” said Ryan Rasmussen, an analyst at Bitwise Asset Management. “The bulls get over their fears and take a loss, then the bears do the same, and so on. When you look at it from a broader perspective, a 5% move in the price of bitcoin is just a blip on the radar.”
August, which has generally been quiet for cryptocurrencies and risk assets, has been particularly volatile this year. However, cryptocurrencies are no strangers to big pullbacks in bull markets. Bitcoin remains secure in the range it has been in since April — between $55,000 and $70,000.
Some market participants noted that Tuesday’s cryptocurrency correction accelerated when news broke that a federal grand jury had issued a revised indictment against former President Donald Trump in his criminal case related to election interference in Washington, D.C.
Trump has positioned himself as a pro-cryptocurrency candidate in the upcoming US presidential election. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, has yet to weigh in on the public’s view of the industry.
“Traders don’t like instability and often risk making money in such environments,” said Bartosz Lipinski, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Cube.Exchange. “This may be the case today.”
