The cryptocurrency market experienced a tumultuous day as the price of Bitcoin (BTC) took a sharp dive, leading to over $661 million in liquidations affecting nearly 200,000 traders in the past 24 hours.
Bitcoin saw a 7.5% drop in early trading on March 15, plummeting from $72,000 to $66,500. Despite a slight rebound to $68,000, the asset was rejected at that level and fell further to around $67,500, currently down 8.3% from its all-time high of $73,737 on March 14.
The majority of liquidations, 80%, were long positions totaling $525.2 million, with short position liquidations amounting to $136.5 million. The crypto market capitalization declined by 7.3% to $2.68 trillion as $175 billion exited the space.
Greeks Live, a crypto derivatives tooling provider, noted a “recent change in market tempo” on March 14, suggesting a potential correction back to the low $60,000 or high $50,000 level if ETF volumes continue to decline.
Analysts are concerned about hot inflation data and the impact of declining ETF volumes on Bitcoin’s price. Aggregate spot Bitcoin ETF inflows were at their lowest this month on March 14, indicating a drop in investor interest.
The release of economic data in the United States, including higher-than-expected PPI and CPI data, contributed to the market decline. Stock markets in Asia also retreated following the disappointing economic news from the U.S.
Crypto trader and analyst “CrediBULL Crypto” predicted further downside for Bitcoin, suggesting a potential drop to $63,000 to $64,000. The market remains volatile as traders navigate the changing landscape of the cryptocurrency space.