In a dramatic turn of events, Bitcoin experienced significant volatility on Sunday as a series of large sell orders from major players caused a swift $2,000 price drop. This rapid decline led to widespread liquidations of both long and short positions, raising concerns about potential manipulation in a low-liquidity environment.
During a single hour, over 15,565 BTC, valued at approximately $1.39 billion, flooded the market. Analysts noted the coordinated nature of this sell-off, with significant contributions from various entities. Specifically, 4,551 BTC from whales, along with substantial amounts from exchanges like Coinbase (2,613 BTC), Wintermute (2,581 BTC), Binance (2,044 BTC), BitMEX (1,932 BTC), and Fidelity (1,844 BTC), collectively contributed to the market”s sudden downturn.
This influx of supply pushed Bitcoin down from $89,700 to $87,700, triggering a cascade of liquidations across the trading spectrum. The initial drop alone resulted in the liquidation of $171 million in long positions, catching many traders off guard as the price shifted drastically within minutes. As of the latest data, Bitcoin has rebounded slightly to $91,494.
The price recovery also resulted in nearly $14 million in short positions being liquidated within an hour and over $91 million in total over the last four hours. Data from Coinglass confirmed the extent of the liquidation chaos: in the past 24 hours, a total of 121,628 traders faced liquidations amounting to $346.67 million.
Market analysts have described this phenomenon as “engineered liquidity collection,” suggesting that this volatility was not simply a product of market forces. Some traders highlighted the quick recovery as an indicator of persistent demand in the spot market, despite the aggressive liquidation pressure observed during the low-liquidity weekend.
As Bitcoin attempts to recover from the weekend”s turmoil, it shows signs of considerable intraday stress, reflecting the thin order books that are often targeted by large players capable of displacing billions of dollars within brief timeframes. The current market dynamics may stabilize as liquidity begins to normalize and derivatives markets reset.
Looking ahead, Bitcoin enters a new trading week with over $300 million in liquidations behind it, yet it remains sensitive to further movements orchestrated by whales. Notably, there is approximately $1 billion in short positions that could face liquidation if the price rises to $93,000, which is only slightly above current levels.
