Bitcoin Price Drop Below $100,000 Triggers $1.04 Billion Liquidation

The cryptocurrency market experienced significant disruption as over $1.04 billion was liquidated within 24 hours after Bitcoin's price fell below $100,000. This downturn followed remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, stating that US bank regulators cannot hold Bitcoin. The Fed’s final rate cut for the year intensified investor panic.

Bitcoin, which had reached an all-time high of $108,000 two days prior, dropped to $96,000, resulting in substantial losses across the market and triggering liquidations of leveraged positions.

Massive Liquidations Hit Long Traders Hard

Data from CoinGlass indicated that over 304,679 traders were affected, with long positions suffering the most. Long traders incurred losses of $869.88 million, while short traders experienced approximately $164 million in liquidations. The largest liquidation occurred on Binance, where a trader lost nearly $16 million.

Centralized exchanges were the primary locations for these liquidations, with Binance accounting for over $450 million in liquidated positions. Other exchanges, including OKX, Bybit, and HTX (formerly Huobi Global), also saw significant losses—approximately $210 million, $215 million, and $86 million respectively.

Crypto Market Cap Plummets Amid Widespread Losses

With more than $1.04 billion liquidated, the total crypto market cap decreased by over 5%, now valued at around $3.34 trillion according to CoinMarketCap. Major altcoins such as Ethereum, Cardano, Avalanche, Shiba Inu, and Dogecoin suffered declines of 7%, 9%, 11%, 10%, and 12% respectively.

Even leading stablecoins Tether (USDT) and Circle USD (USDC) showed slight deviations from their 1:1 peg to the US dollar, increasing concerns among market participants.

As Bitcoin struggles to maintain its value at $96,000 and altcoins face significant losses, uncertainty regarding the future of the bull market persists. Investors are seeking stability following a tumultuous day in the crypto market.