Crypto Traders Lose $277 Million As Bitcoin Crashes Below $70K

The cryptocurrency market suffered a significant fall on Friday as traders appeared to be cutting back on their long holdings following notable spikes.

Bitcoin was unable to maintain its overnight record high of $73,700, declining 4% for the day.

Recent price action suggests that Bitcoin may drop further and retest its next major support level near $66,000 if it closes below the $69,700 mark during Asia’s trading session.

In the past day, 90,456 traders were liquidated, resulting in $276.84 million in losses. The largest single liquidation order occurred at Binance, valued at $11.3 million in BTC/USDT.

What Does Liquidation Mean?

“Crypto liquidation” refers to the forced closing of a trader’s market positions. This occurs when a trader’s margin account cannot support their open positions due to significant losses or insufficient margin to meet maintenance requirements.

The exchange or brokerage may initiate the liquidation process if a trader’s account falls below the necessary margin threshold. The trader’s positions will be forcibly closed at market price to cover losses and unpaid debts.

Bitcoin’s Price Action

Surprisingly, Bitcoin’s gains continued in October. By the end of Q3 2024, prices had risen against all odds, with Bitcoin increasing by about 14% in the past month—roughly half of what was observed the previous year.

BlackRock clients took advantage of the dip and doubled down on IBIT, its spot Bitcoin ETF, which currently oversees more than 403,000 Bitcoin.
However, buyers showed signs of exhaustion as the daily chart’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) peaked on Tuesday at an overbought level of 70, then fell precipitously to 57, indicating a discernible waning of bullish momentum.
On-chain data shows that only 1,000 BTC has been added to retail Bitcoin holdings in the last 30 days. Since July 3, when it hit a local bottom, the total assets held by this group of market participants have increased by 18,000 BTC. Retail investors possessed 1.753 million Bitcoin at the time of writing, slightly below the record of 1.765 million at the end of 2023.

These investors’ balances have been declining since May 2023, when retail holdings increased by 27,000 BTC. Retail investors experienced periods of strong growth prior to this decline, including the market recovery following the COVID-19 crash in April 2020, the peak of the preceding bull cycle in April 2021, and the bear market in 2022, marked by the collapse of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX.