Bitcoin dips below $62,000 amid $1.5 billion in liquidations

Bitcoin dips below $62,000 amid $1.5 billion in liquidations
Why Bitcoin fell and what comes next

​Bitcoin briefly fell below $62,000 on Thursday morning, triggering a major wave of liquidations across the crypto market. Over the past 24 hours, the volume of forcibly closed leveraged positions exceeded $1.5 billion, while forced selling accelerated the market’s sharpest decline in months.

According to CoinGlass, more than 200,000 traders were liquidated. Bitcoin accounted for over $800 million in losses, while Ethereum accounted for another $386 million.

Why Bitcoin is falling

The sell-off coincided with continued weakening of institutional demand. This week, investors pulled around $1 billion from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, extending the funds’ record streak of net outflows.

In a Thursday note, Presto Research said Bitcoin’s weakness may be driven not by a single crypto-specific factor, but by broader competition for investor capital.

According to the firm, Bitcoin’s biggest drawdowns this year have coincided with rallies in gold and artificial intelligence-related stocks. This came as investors revised their expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts.

If this relationship holds, Presto argues, Bitcoin’s recovery may depend less on developments within the crypto market and more on easing inflation concerns and renewed interest in liquidity-sensitive assets.

It could get worse

CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju expects Bitcoin’s decline could continue, as the market is facing unusually strong selling pressure. He notes that investors’ average BTC cost basis is around $53,000, while in previous cycles, bear markets typically ended only after the price fell below the realized price. Such a scenario previously seemed less likely due to institutional capital inflows and MicroStrategy’s accumulation, given that the company has barely sold any Bitcoin.

He argues that even large-scale supply absorption has failed to keep the price above previous levels. Since January 2023, MicroStrategy has effectively removed more than 711,000 BTC from circulation, while since March 2024, ETFs and MicroStrategy together have absorbed over 1.24 million BTC — more than Satoshi’s estimated holdings and nearly half of exchange reserves. Yet Bitcoin has returned to around $63,000, which, according to Ki Young Ju, points to major distribution and a change of hands in the market.

As a reminder, market behavior may also be affected by a series of upcoming IPOs.

This material may contain third-party opinions, none of the data and information on this webpage constitutes investment advice according to our Disclaimer. While we adhere to strict Editorial Integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners.
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