- Bitcoin’s price crashed below $57,000, recording a 3.6% decline in the past 24 hours and over 4% weekly losses
- The crash triggered liquidations exceeding $200 million across the derivatives market, with Ethereum traders suffering the most at $70 million
- The sell-off was potentially caused by the transfer of 10,000 BTC from a US Government wallet and the movement of $2 billion worth of Mt. Gox BTC by BitGo
Bitcoin’s price has seen a major crash over the past 24 hours, falling by around 36% to dip below $57,000. This brings BTC’s weekly losses to above 4%.
The Price Crash in Detail
The rapid decline in Bitcoin‘s price was possibly triggered by 10K BTC being moved from a known US Government wallet to a Coinbase Prime deposit wallet. In addition, on Tuesday BitGo moved 2 billion worth of Mt Gox BTC, sparking worries of increased selling pressure.
Bitcoin’s crash below $57K has resulted in liquidations upward of $200 million across the derivatives market. Most of the positions were long traders, which is expected during a downward move. ETH derivatives traders suffered the most, accounting for $70 million of the total liquidations. Ethereum is down 46% in the past 24 hours.
Contrast With Stock Market
Interestingly, the stock market is experiencing a considerable uptick during the same period. The S&P 500 is up almost 2% on the day, while NASDAQ is also charting 0.6% gains.
The Road Ahead
The rapid price decline shows the volatility that is still inherent in the cryptocurrency markets. While detrimental in the short-term, such corrections are seen as necessary for longer-term growth. The key question is whether Bitcoin can maintain support around the $50k level and stabilize, or if further declines are ahead.
