Cryptocurrency markets experienced a significant downturn on Friday, with Bitcoin dropping below the critical $90,000 mark, while Ethereum also edged closer to a decline beneath $3,000. This downward trend has been compounded by an uptick in liquidations across the board, highlighting the tumultuous nature of the market.
Bitcoin recorded a drop to $88,420 early in the day but later saw slight recovery, trading at around $89,215. This marks a decline of over 3% within a 24-hour period, following a recent peak that exceeded $92,000. The volatility of Bitcoin has been pronounced, especially given that it plummeted below $85,000 earlier in the week before making a brief rebound. This volatility has persisted, with the cryptocurrency recently hitting a seven-month low of approximately $81,000 in late November, following a remarkable all-time high of $126,080 noted in early October. Overall, Bitcoin’s value has decreased by nearly 30% since achieving that record high.
In addition to Bitcoin’s struggles, other significant altcoins have also recorded sharper losses. Ethereum saw a decline exceeding 4%, recently priced at $3,021. XRP fell to $2.03, also down about 4%, while Solana experienced a nearly 7% drop to $132. Similarly, Dogecoin saw a decline of approximately 7%, trading below $0.14.
Liquidation amounts over the past day have surpassed $493 million, following a near $500 million total shortly beforehand, according to data from CoinGlass. Bitcoin accounted for $191 million of these liquidations, predominantly from long positions—trades betting that asset prices would rise—amounting to around $412 million of the total.
The reasons behind this latest decline in cryptocurrency prices remain unclear, particularly as major stock market indices are experiencing slight gains. The S&P 500 is approaching another all-time high amid growing expectations of a third interest rate cut planned for next week’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. In contrast, stocks related to the cryptocurrency sector are also experiencing losses. Bitcoin miner CleanSpark (CLSK) fell by 8%, while peers Bitfarms (BITF) and Hive Digital (HIVE) suffered approximately 5% declines. Coinbase (COIN) experienced a marginal drop of less than 1%, with other firms such as MicroStrategy (MSTR) and Robinhood (HOOD) reporting losses around 3%.
The combination of declining prices, significant liquidation activity, and the volatility of key cryptocurrencies paints a concerning picture for market participants, who are navigating an uncertain financial landscape.
