Bitcoin’s Sudden 7% Retreat Causes $660 Million to Evaporate in One Day
Some believe that the reduction in ETF narratives and economic data from the United States may have triggered a sudden sell-off in cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin’s price plummeted during a tumultuous day that saw over $661 million in digital currency liquidations in the past 24 hours, affecting nearly 200,000 traders. In early trading on March 15, Bitcoin dropped 7.5% in just a few hours, from $72,000 to $66,500, according to Tradingview data. It then slightly recovered to reclaim the $68,000 level, before being rejected there and falling further to around $67,500, where it was trading at the time of writing. The price is currently down 8.3% from its March 14 high of $73,737.
A vast majority, about 80%, of the liquidations were long positions, accounting for over $525.2 million in liquidity in the past 24 hours. Short position liquidations were $136.5 million. The digital currency market value decreased by 7.3% on the day to $2.68 trillion as around $175 billion was wiped from the space. Greeks Live, a provider of cryptocurrency derivatives tools, mentioned that the recent shift in market momentum occurred on March 14.
Pav Hundal, a senior analyst at the Australian crypto exchange Swyftx, told Coin Telegraph that if the reduction in ETF volume continues, we might see a correction back to the low $60,000 or $50,000 levels. Many investors are worried about hot inflation data and expect a significant correction if the ETF volume continues to decline. He added that it’s concerning to see Bitcoin ETF inflow volume decrease by 48% compared to its 14-day average on the previous day.
According to data from Farside investors, Bitcoin ETF inflows on March 14 were only $133 million, the lowest for the month. CrediBULL Crypto, a trader and crypto analyst, addressed his 380,000 followers on X, stating that this seems to be the downturn we were looking for. The recent drop has also eliminated most of the open interest (OI) created in derivatives markets, he added, before predicting that there’s a bit more to go, with Bitcoin possibly dropping to around $63,000 to $64,000.
The release of economic data in the United States this week may have accelerated the downturn. New Producer Price Index (PPI) data, which was higher than expected, reinforced predictions of high long-term rates by the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, hotter than expected Consumer Price Index (CPI) data earlier this week exacerbated America’s economic troubles, leading Asian stock markets to retreat on Friday after the US economic data dashed hopes for an interest rate cut soon.
