Coinglass data shows that in the past 24 hours, 90,946 traders liquidated their Bitcoin positions. The total liquidations total $281.31 million, of which the vast majority were long positions: $259.41 million. The most significant single-liquidation order was on Bitmex, where a position worth $10 million was liquidated.
The developments are very dynamic, judging by the Bitcoin crash. Liquidations were only $150 million an hour ago when Bitcoin was still trading above $62 million. It is changing hands for $61,400, down by over 2% in the last hour.
Ethereum, the second-biggest crypto by market cap, also experienced significant liquidations. Long positions worth $28.5 million were liquidated in the past 24 hours—again, the vast majority of the total liquidated amount of $29.1 million.
Meanwhile, another vital aspect is Bitcoin’s trading volume, up 187.53% in the last 24 hours. However, that’s hardly good news for Bitcoin bulls. The current price is around 15% below the all-time high of $73,740, reached on March 14.
Why are the liquidations happening?
When Bitcoin crashes or breaches critical technical levels, it can trigger automated sell orders or prompt traders to liquidate their positions based on their technical analysis.
Natural market corrections after a prolonged bull run can cause prices to fall. In a highly volatile market like cryptocurrency, corrections can be sharp and lead to significant liquidations.
Fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) can spread quickly in the cryptocurrency market. Media reports, social media discussions, and influential figures’ comments can amplify FUD, leading to panic selling.
Bitcoin price prediction
Analysts were optimistic that Bitcoin would receive backing at the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. However, Bitcoin fell below the support earlier today at $62,451, making it impossible to rally to its previous resistance level.
The daily chart shows that the Awesome Oscillator and the Relative Strength Index are below their respective mean levels of 0 and 50. These indicators must rise above those levels for the Bitcoin crash to end and for bullish sentiment to return. On May 21, Bitcoin hit a high of $71,995 and a low of $56,552 on May 1.
