Bitcoin sees another flash crash, leading to $1.52 billion cascade in crypto liquidations

The crypto market experienced a cascade of liquidations over the past 24 hours, totaling $1.52 billion, as Bitcoin (BTC) underwent yet another flash crash.

According to Coinglass data, longs made up the vast majority of the amount, with $1.39 billion liquidated across the market, while short liquidations accounted for $137 million of the total.

This marks the second consecutive week of intense market volatility, with altcoins taking the hardest hit. Over $759 million in liquidations occurred in the past hour alone, highlighting the speed and scale of the sell-off.

Intense volatility

Based on CryptoSlate data, Bitcoin’s price dropped sharply to an intraday low of $94,129 before partially recovering to trade at roughly $97,000 as of press time.

The sudden downturn triggered liquidations of $83.99 million in Bitcoin positions within the last four hours, with long traders accounting for the majority. The liquidation of leveraged positions added further downward pressure, exacerbating losses across the broader market.

Ethereum (ETH) bore the brunt of the sell-off among altcoins, with $134.50 million liquidated in the last four hours alone. The asset’s price fell to $3,510, marking a sharp drop from its recent highs, before recovering to the $3,700 level as of press time.

Dogecoin (DOGE) also saw substantial liquidations, with $51.55 million wiped out as the meme coin struggled to hold above critical support levels and fell to an intraday low of $0.38 before recovering to $0.422 as of press time.

The top altcoin losers included Solana (SOL), which saw $33.61 million in liquidations, and XRP, which recorded $33.78 million in wiped-out positions. The two coins fell to $203 and $2.01, respectively, before buyers stepped in to drive a recovery to $220 and $2.26 as of press time.

Cardano (ADA) also faced significant pressure, dropping below key psychological levels to $0.91. As of press time, it is still hovering around the $1 level.

Over-leveraged positions

The rapid sell-off was fueled by a combination of over-leveraged positions, weak sentiment, and cascading stop-loss orders.

Binance accounted for the largest share of liquidations, with $417.65 million in total liquidations over the past four hours. OKX followed with $224.76 million, while Bybit saw $207.16 million in wiped-out positions.

The most significant single liquidation event occurred on Binance’s ETHUSDT trading pair, totaling $19.69 million.

Despite the massive liquidations and intense volatility, the crypto Fear and Greed Index remains in Extreme Greed territory at 78.

At the time of press 10:08 pm UTC on Dec. 9, 2024, Bitcoin is ranked #1 by market cap and the price is down 3.25% over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin has a market capitalization of $1.91 trillion with a 24-hour trading volume of $103.65 billion.

Bitcoin

10:08 pm UTC on Dec. 9, 2024

$96,735.39

-3.25%

At the time of press 10:08 pm UTC on Dec. 9, 2024, the total crypto market is valued at at $3.44 trillion with a 24-hour volume of $288.18 billion. Bitcoin dominance is currently at 55.69%.

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