Bitcoin Faces Major Sell-Off: $200 Million Liquidated in One Hour

Bitcoin recently plummeted below $87,000 following a significant sell-off on Wall Street, resulting in $200 million worth of BTC long positions being liquidated in just one hour. Market sentiments suggest further declines may occur before any substantial price recovery happens, with predictions of continued buy activity at higher price points.

Key Takeaways

Bitcoin dropped to $86,625 as traders sold off during Wall Street's reopening.
Analysts indicate that more price drops could happen before any recovery in BTC value.
A strategy reveals an additional purchase of 10,000 BTC, but now at prices exceeding $92,000.

Bitcoin sees ‘pure manipulation’ as US sell-off liquidates $200M in an hour

Market Dynamics Lead to Rapid Liquidations

As the U.S. trading week began, market volatility surged, highlighted by quickly increasing sell pressure. Data collected from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView illustrated a rocky start for Bitcoin prices.

BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

With the market's opening bell, major exchanges like Binance and Wintermute were identified as key players in the significant sell-off.

🚨 BREAKING:

BINANCE AND WINTERMUTE SELLING OFF MILLIONS IN $BTC

THEY LIQUIDATED OVER $100M IN LONG POSITIONS IN JUST 5 MINUTES

THIS IS CLEAR MANIPULATION!! 👀 — ᴛʀᴀᴄᴇʀ (@DeFiTracer)

In less than an hour, long liquidations escalated to over $200 million, per CoinGlass data.

Total crypto liquidations (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass

Traders who were already pessimistic found little justification for believing that a price reversal or a meaningful relief bounce was on the horizon. A trader, Roman, shared insights on X, stating, “My only concern is that selling volume isn't very high, so we might see a bounce around $84k.”

BTC liquidation heatmap. Source: CoinGlass

Analyzing order book data, trader Daan Crypto Trades described the current price movements as a “massive liquidity hunt.” He expressed skepticism about the trend, predicting more erratic “Bart” patterns—prices rising or falling suddenly before returning to their original levels.

BTC/USDT four-hour chart. Source: AlejandroBTC/X

Despite the market nearing month-to-date lows, some traders like AlejandroBTC remained hopeful. He indicated, “We’ve finally broken a range that has been forming since early December. This implies that we’ll soon target the next set of lows while still working within a broader range.”

Strategic Purchases Amidst the Decline

Reflecting traditional market behavior, the downside in BTC price coincided with announcements from Strategy, the company holding the largest Bitcoin treasury globally, about another significant purchase.

Related: Bears dominate below $90K? Key Insights on Bitcoin this Week.

The company's filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed a purchase of 10,645 BTC at an average price of $92,098 per coin.

While some critics pointed to this as detrimental for price performance, on-chain analysis suggested a long-term bottom could be forming. “As anticipated, the premiums that Bitcoin longs are paying on leveraged trades reversed at the top of the descending pattern we’ve monitored since July,” commented On-Chain College in a post discussing funding rates in Bitcoin futures markets.

Bitcoin futures funding rate data. Source: On-Chain College/X