The cryptocurrency market is facing a downturn as both Bitcoin and Ethereum have dipped below critical support levels. Today, Bitcoin hit an intraday low of approximately $64,290, down from its recent peak of $67,684, representing a decline of over 4.6%. Meanwhile, Ethereum experienced a similar drop from $1,957 to $1,848 after maintaining support at $1,914 for nearly a week.
The overall market capitalization fell by 4.31% to $2.23 trillion in the last 24 hours, primarily due to a substantial liquidation event in Bitcoin derivatives. Long liquidations for Bitcoin skyrocketed by 934% during this period, totaling $211 million, with over $200 million in crypto long positions liquidated in just one hour as Bitcoin approached $65,000. This trend highlights an overleveraged market where forced sell-offs exacerbated the price decline.
The cascading effect of these liquidations created a feedback loop; as prices fell, further liquidations occurred, subsequently driving prices lower and impacting correlated assets. The altcoin market also suffered, with major tokens in the top 10 seeing significant losses.
Solana, for example, saw a sharp pullback, losing the crucial $80 support level and dropping to $77.43, marking a nearly 9% decline. Other cryptocurrencies like XRP, Dogecoin, and Bitcoin Cash also recorded losses exceeding 5%, reaching prices of $1.34, $0.092, and $539.07, respectively. The market capitalization of altcoins subsequently fell below $940 billion, nearing lows close to $910 billion.
Previously, the market cap had consolidated between $935 billion and $955 billion for several days after losing local highs near $990 billion. The recent drop appears to have disrupted this ascending consolidation, suggesting a potential for a deeper correction in the near future.
Among the top losers, LayerZero and pump.fun recorded declines of 10.21% and 8.72%, respectively. In contrast, Pippin has shown resilience, with its price surging nearly 34.36%, followed by Kite with an 18.30% increase and Memecore and Toncoin both rising over 2%.
The recent sell-off was primarily triggered by a rapid unwinding of leveraged positions in Bitcoin, while the Ethereum ecosystem has underperformed significantly, plunging nearly 20% overall. The immediate future for Bitcoin hinges on its ability to maintain the $65,000 mark, while the total crypto market capitalization must stay above its critical yearly low of $2.17 trillion.
Investors are now looking towards the upcoming daily ETF flow data release, which is expected to shed light on institutional interest in the market. The next few days, leading up to the end of the monthly trading cycle, will be crucial in determining the future trajectory of the crypto markets and Bitcoin“s price movement.
