$1.8B in Crypto Positions Liquidated as Bitcoin Tumbles to $65K
A sharp decline sent Bitcoin to its lowest level in nine weeks, hitting approximately $65,000 and eliminating $1.8 billion worth of cryptocurrency positions while stoking concerns about a potential drop to $60,000.
Bitcoin (BTC) experienced an 8% decline, falling to a nine-week low of $65,360 from its Tuesday peak of $71,300 as geopolitical tensions related to the US-Iran conflict intensified.
Key takeaways:
- On Wednesday, Bitcoin fell to $65,000 during a broader market downturn, resulting in $774 million worth of liquidated long positions.
- Market analysts emphasize that Bitcoin must maintain $60,000 as a support level to prevent a more severe price correction.
Long positions eliminated as Bitcoin falls to $65,000
According to TradingView data, BTC reached new price lows at $65,362 on the Bitstamp exchange, marking the weakest level since March 29 with sellers maintaining market control.
The decline increased the deviation from the recent peak of $82,800 to 21%, triggering substantial liquidations throughout the derivatives marketplace.
Long positions exceeding $1.58 billion were eliminated, with Bitcoin representing $774.2 million of that figure. Ether (ETH) was next in line with $440 million in liquidated long positions.
In total, $1.83 billion was eliminated from the market through both short and long position liquidations, representing the most significant liquidation event since Feb. 6, when Bitcoin's price crashed to its multi-year bottom below $60,000.
"This marks one of the larger single-day events in recent months," analysts at CryptoBanter said in an X post on Wednesday.
Byzantine General, a pseudonymous market analyst, posted Velo data tracking liquidations from four leading crypto exchanges: Binance, Bybit, OKX and Deribit, stating:
"Highest $BTC long liquidations event since the infamous October 10 black swan event."
Another analyst, DonaXβΏΟ, noted that the $1.5 billion in long liquidations seen today fell short of the $1.6 billion recorded during the 2020 Covid crash, commenting:
"This industry is growing."
At the same time, Bitcoin inventory on Binance, the leading crypto exchange globally by trading volume, has climbed to a three-month peak of 659,000 BTC.
This indicates a "potential for heightened selling pressure in the market, especially if it coincides with declining prices or increased volatility," CryptoQuant analyst Arab Chain said in a QuickTake note on Wednesday, adding:
"Rising supply on exchanges can amplify price volatility and selling pressure, especially if inflows continue in the coming period."
According to Cointelegraph's previous reporting, Bitcoin has entered a new distribution phase driven by growing inflows to exchanges during a period of extreme fear.
Bitcoin's final support barrier stands at $60,000
After BTC swept through lows near $65,000, traders are now speculating about where Bitcoin might discover its support level.
Bitcoin has entered an "interesting zone" beneath $66,000 with bullish traders eyeing the "area at $61K with the 200-Week MA for support," MN Capital founder Michael van de Poppe said in a Wednesday post on X, adding:
"Those are important to be looking at crucial zones of interest for support and I'm sure that I'll be going to accumulate more positions within this region."
Market analyst Colin Talks Crypto indicated that the $65,000-$66,000 range represents "a reasonable support level for a short-term bounce," while acknowledging the possibility that the BTC/USD pair could subsequently retest the $60,000 support zone.
"Re-testing $60k is still highly likely. And breaking below it later this year is definitely not ruled out."
As previously reported by Cointelegraph, market bulls are anticipated to vigorously defend the $60,000 threshold, since falling below this level could push Bitcoin into a fresh downward trend.