Bitcoin Halts Its Record Run: Dips Below $70,000 Amid Latest Developments
Recent fluctuations in the Bitcoin market have led investors to remain cautious. Bitcoin has increasingly begun to factor in political developments in the United States. Notably, as the likelihood of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump being elected has decreased in prediction markets, sales in the cryptocurrency have accelerated. During Asian trading hours, Bitcoin fell below $69,000 and recorded a 4% loss in the U.S. session, marking the largest daily decline in a month. Additionally, the movement of Bitcoin wallets on the Mt. Gox exchange is also thought to be another factor triggering the decline.
The volatility in the cryptocurrency market has caused significant losses for investors. Following the recent volatility, the total amount of liquidated positions reached $280 million. More than 90,000 investors were liquidated during this process, particularly due to leveraged trades, which resulted in many investors incurring losses. Specifically, a position in the BTC/USDT pair on Binance was liquidated for $11 million, representing the largest loss.
Despite recent gains, Bitcoin prices quickly retreated below $69,000 during the Asian trading session. Although Bitcoin rose to $73,700, it could not maintain that level and lost 4% of its value, raising the possibility of retesting the main support level near $66,000. While BlackRock's clients taking advantage of this decline to increase investments in the spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, is notable, the volatility in prices has led to the development of different strategies among institutional and retail investors.
In the options market, $2.29 billion worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum options contracts expiring today are expected to cause short-term price volatility. The maximum pain price for Bitcoin options is set at $69,000, taking into account the market's potential for short-term fluctuations. Although the expiration of options generally leads to temporary fluctuations in the market, this usually has a short-lived impact.
Additionally, it appears that BTC is nearing the year’s highest maximum pain point of $69,000 in the cryptocurrency options market. Besides the expiration of options, important macroeconomic data such as the Non-Farm Payroll figures to be released in the U.S. and election results could directly influence market trends.
In line with Bitcoin, altcoins have also declined. Cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) saw a 5% decrease, while popular memecoins such as Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) dropped by 7.5% and 6.2%, respectively. The total market cap of the cryptocurrency market fell by approximately $100 billion, reaching $2.45 trillion. This situation has brought about significant losses for investors in the cryptocurrency market, with continued high volatility expected.