Bitcoin, the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency, dropped below $ 45,000 this morning, triggering a market-wide panic.
More than $ 379 million in positions were liquidated today, according to Bybit statistics, affecting approximately 87,000 individual trading accounts. However, as of press time, the market looks to be momentarily stabilizing, halting the crypto market’s second sharp drop in recent weeks.
The source: Bybit
Liquidation occurs when leveraged holdings are automatically liquidated as a “safety mechanism” by stock exchanges / brokers. Futures and margin traders, who borrow money from exchanges (sometimes in multiples) to place greater wagers, must first put up a modest deposit.
A “long” happens when investors bet on the price of a certain asset to rise, whereas a “short” occurs when investors bet on the price of the same asset to fall.
Longs accounted for 65 percent of the $ 94 million liquidated today in Bitcoin, or roughly $ 62 million, according to the statistics.
The general tendency appears to have shifted slightly as well. Bitcoin fell below the $ 46,800 level and dropped near the $ 44,200 barrier on the 4-hour BTC price chart. It has lost 13% of its value in the last week alone, and if the drop continues, the next support level will be $ 40,000.
Other cryptocurrencies, like ether, also sold for up to $ 72 million, with $ 47 million of it going to long. Solana, Cardano, XRP, and Polkadot were next, with $ 33 million, $ 30 million, $ 16 million, and $ 14 million in liquidation values, respectively.