Altcoins
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Falls to $66,000, Altcoins Freefall as Crypto Liquidations Hit $850 Million
Cryptocurrencies fell on Friday as risk aversion in traditional markets, amid heightened geopolitical risks, spread to digital assets.
In rapid bearish action in the afternoon during US trading, Bitcoin (BTC) dipped below $66,000 after challenging the $71,000 level hours earlier. At press time, bitcoin had rebounded to $66,700, down more than 5% in the past 24 hours.
Ether (ETH)the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, fell 12% to $3,100 before a modest rebound reduced the decline to 8%.
Smaller cryptocurrencies suffered even heavier losses during the panic action. The vast market CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) fell almost 10%, along with that of Cardano ADAavalanches AVAXBitcoin Cash (BCH)filecoin (THREAD) and aptos (APT) in free fall of 15 to 20%.
The withdrawal triggered the largest leverage withdrawal in a month, liquidating some $850 million in leveraged derivatives trading positions across all digital assets, CoinGlass data watch. Some $770 million of those positions were long bets on rising prices, caught off guard by the sudden decline.
The drop came as stock markets slumped during the U.S. trading session amid growing fears of a broader conflict in the Middle East, U.S. officials said. . warned that Iran could be preparing to launch a significant attack against Israel.
Treasuries and the US Dollar Index (DXY) jumped as traders flocked to cover, while the main US stock indexes, the S&P500 and Nasdaq 100, slipped 1.7% an hour before the close of the trading session. Gold, long considered a safe-haven asset, rose above $2,400 to hit a new all-time high before paring its gains, while oil rose 1%.
Digital asset investment firm Ryze Labs, formerly Sino Global Capital, said in a commentary on Friday that it expects some “near-term market slowdown” for crypto assets due to the upcoming tax season. However, he maintained a more constructive long-term outlook, expecting relief for the asset class as policymakers slow quantitative tightening and potentially adjust monetary policy to make it easier to refinance U.S. government debt.