Bitcoin Dips Below $66,000 Ahead of Fourth Halving, Loses Over 5% in 24 Hours

The price of bitcoin experienced a decline on Monday, near 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), tumbling to a position slightly over the $66,000 mark. By 6:30 a.m. the following day, it had edged down further to reach its intraday low of $65,480 per unit. In the wake of this downturn, the crypto derivatives markets saw the liquidation of bitcoin long positions amounting to $135.3 million wiped out.

Bitcoin Price Slides 18 Days Before the Halving

Bitcoin has certainly seen brighter days, with its value decreasing by 5% in the past 24 hours and 8% over the previous week. Currently, BTC is being traded at $65,850 per unit, having reached a low of $65,480 in the early hours of trading. This decline occurs with just 18 days remaining until BTC’s fourth halving event, which will slash the block rewards from 6.25 bitcoins to 3.125 bitcoins per block after the halving.

BTC/USD daily chart on April 2, 2024.

This downward trend also unfolds as market watchers anticipate the next steps of the U.S. Federal Reserve, expected to maintain elevated interest rates. The Federal Reserve’s actions have historically impacted risk assets, though the latest decision from the Fed had a minimal impact on BTC prices, unlike previous occasions. With the Federal Reserve’s decision still 29 days away, the CME’s Fed Watch tool is currently showing a 95.5% likelihood that the interest rate will stay the same.

BTC/USD hourly chart on April 2, 2024.

In spite of the decline, the cryptocurrency market has seen a 40% increase in volume, reaching $141.17 billion in the last 24 hours, with BTC accounting for $41.39 billion of this total. On Tuesday, the most active trading pairs for BTC are USDT and FDUSD, followed closely by trades in USD, USDC, and KRW. The Korean won represents 2.69% of BTC’s total trading volume. Although the global average price hovers just above $66,000, BTC is fetching as much as $71,295 in South Korea.

The crypto market downturn has led to significant liquidations, with $135.3 million in BTC long positions being cleared out in the past day. Across the crypto market, total liquidations of long positions amounted to $354.20 million, and including shorts, the total liquidations for the day reached $449.81 million. Data from 6:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday shows a nearly even split between long (49.21%) and short (50.79%) positions.

What do you think about bitcoin’s price action on Tuesday? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.

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