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The price of bitcoin continued to decline over the weekend, dropping an additional 7.7% in the last 24 hours. It plummeted to a daily low of $61,384 per coin, prompting a significant wave of leveraged liquidations on Saturday.
By 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, bitcoin’s (BTC) price dipped below the $62,000 threshold after hovering around $67,000 for most of the morning’s trading sessions. The cryptocurrency experienced a 7.7% decrease within three hours, triggered by a flurry of panic selling that started at 1:00 p.m. Two-week statistics indicate that bitcoin has fallen 8.7% compared to the U.S. dollar, while trading volume soared to $41.63 billion throughout the day.
Around 4:15 p.m., the price stabilized, cooling down to just above the $62,000 mark with several attempts to climb into the $63,000 range. In total, over a three-hour span, bitcoin lost $4,500 in value despite some recovery. Hourly liquidations from long positions in bitcoin alone saw $167.13 million wiped out, with Saturday’s total liquidations across the cryptocurrency landscape nearing the $1 billion mark again. At 4:15, the 24-hour liquidation tally stood at $697.07 million, with $598.91 million from long positions.
By 4:25, bears had pushed BTC’s price back under the $62,000 mark, triggering additional leveraged liquidations. Throughout the day, 219,299 traders faced liquidation. This spike in selling pressure could potentially push BTC prices even lower, perpetuating a cycle that hastens the decline. Often, such rapid sell-offs are driven more by emotional responses than by thoughtful analysis, leading more traders to sell off in a bid to minimize losses. Additionally, bears are likely to capitalize on this scenario. Presently, at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, BTC is trading for $62,777 per coin on Bitstamp.
