Bitcoin Faces Sharp Decline Over the Weekend, Triggering Massive Liquidations

by Pooja Chauhan · 14/04/2024

Bitcoin’s value plummeted this weekend, dropping below $62,000 after starting the day near $67,000. The sharp 7.7% decrease led to extensive market liquidations, with total cryptocurrency liquidations nearing $1 billion on Saturday alone. Read more about the rapid sell-offs and market responses.

Over the weekend, the price of bitcoin saw further declines, falling an additional 7.7% in the last 24 hours and reaching a low of $61,384 per coin, which caused a significant number of leveraged liquidations on Saturday.

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Bitcoin’s Value Drops Amidst Market Turbulence; Extensive Liquidations Occur

As of 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, the price of bitcoin (BTC) fell below the $62,000 mark, having earlier been close to $67,000 during the morning trading hours. The cryptocurrency saw a rapid 7.7% decrease over three hours, initiated by intense panic selling that began at 1:00 p.m. Over the past two weeks, bitcoin has experienced an 8.7% decline against the U.S. dollar, while its trading volume for the day surged to $41.63 billion.

By 4:15 p.m., the price had somewhat stabilized, holding just above $62,000 and making several attempts to rise into the $63,000 bracket. Despite some recovery attempts within this three-hour period, bitcoin’s value diminished by $4,500. Hourly liquidations from long bitcoin positions led to $167.13 million being erased, with total liquidations in the cryptocurrency market on Saturday approaching $1 billion. At this point, the 24-hour liquidation total was recorded at $697.07 million, including $598.91 million from long positions.

Shortly after, at 4:25 p.m., the price dipped again below the $62,000 threshold, leading to more leveraged liquidations. The day saw 219,299 traders experiencing liquidation. The ongoing selling pressure could potentially drive BTC prices even lower, continuing a cycle that accelerates the downturn. Such rapid sell-offs are often driven more by emotional reactions than strategic considerations, prompting more traders to sell in an effort to reduce losses. Additionally, bears are likely to exploit this situation. At 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, BTC was trading at $62,777 per coin on Bitstamp.

Also Read, Bitcoin Faces Volatile Market: $871 Million in Liquidations as Price Dips Sharply