Bitcoin dropped below $84,000 on Wednesday as roughly $550 million in leveraged crypto positions got wiped out over 24 hours. Ether, XRP and SOL fell alongside it, while oil and bond markets also cooled.
Bitcoin slides as longs get flushed out
Bitcoin fell as much as 2.4% to about $83,600, slipping below $84,000 as about $550 million in leveraged crypto bets were wiped out over 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data. Those were liquidations, positions an exchange closes automatically when a trader using borrowed money can no longer cover the losses. Most of them hit longs, traders betting on higher prices.
Ether dropped nearly 4% to about $2,590, XRP lost about 4% and SOL fell more than 3%. According to Bloomberg: "a leverage flush instead of a downward trend" is how Dan Khus, chief analyst at LVRG Research, described the move.
Sellers take control below $84,000
The slide takes bitcoin under the $84,000 level that FxPro flagged on Tuesday as the point where sellers take control. The recent low near $83,000 is the next test for the market.
Risk appetite cooled across other markets too. Renewed Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz dimmed hopes that shipping through the waterway would return to normal and pushed Brent crude above $101 a barrel. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed back above 5.3%, and Europe's Stoxx 600 snapped a three-day winning streak, even as U.S. stock futures stayed little changed after the S&P 500 closed at a record.
Fed minutes loom over the next move
Minutes from the Fed's last meeting are due later Wednesday. Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets, told Bloomberg that a hawkish read could push yields and the dollar higher and keep risk assets under pressure.
Source: CoinDesk
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