The crypto market faced an unexpected blow on April 12th, witnessing a sudden downturn in the value of Bitcoin and other major altcoins, leading to a significant number of liquidations. The exact cause of this widespread price drop remains elusive, with various plausible explanations being put forward, including a recent correction in the US stock markets.
Bitcoin’s Plunge
Data from CoinMarketCap revealed that Bitcoin’s price plunged by 4.49% in a single day, dropping to as low as $66,052. The subsequent decline of Bitcoin had a ripple effect across the market, affecting other prominent altcoins such as Ethereum and Solana, which experienced daily losses of 8.12% and 12.16% respectively.
Massive Liquidations
The aftermath of these losses was felt by a staggering 277,843 traders who saw their leveraged positions wiped out, resulting in total crypto liquidations totaling $877.21 million within 24 hours, as reported by Coinglass. Long positions accounted for the majority of the losses at $782.98 million, while short traders lost a comparatively modest $94.24 million. The rapid decline in prices led to the closure of $467 million worth of leveraged positions in just an hour, underscoring the severity of the situation.
Interestingly, Bitcoin’s price decline coincided with a dip in the US stock market, with the S&P 500 index falling by 1.6% to $5,108. This market downturn followed the release of recent CPI data, which showed a year-over-year inflation rate of 3.5% in March. The implication of these reports is that the US Federal Reserve is unlikely to implement any rate cuts in the near future to combat rising inflation, a prospect that could dampen investor sentiment towards risky assets like Bitcoin, which typically thrive in a low-interest rate environment.
Despite the market turbulence, there were some positive signs for Bitcoin, with an increase in the number of non-empty wallets on the network leading up to the upcoming Halving event on April 19. According to Santiment, a blockchain analytics platform, there has been a surge of 370,000 BTC wallets holding active coins in the past six days, indicating growing interest and participation in the cryptocurrency. The analytic team is optimistic that this trend will continue through the Halving event, which could potentially have a positive impact on Bitcoin’s price trajectory.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin was trading at $66,882, with a significant 44.80% increase in daily trading volume, reaching $43.80 billion. However, the overall performance of Bitcoin has been lackluster in recent weeks, with declines of 1.33% and 6.20% over the past seven and 30 days respectively, raising concerns among investors and analysts about the future direction of the cryptocurrency.
The crypto market’s recent turbulence serves as a stark reminder of the inherent volatility and unpredictability of digital assets. Investors are advised to exercise caution and conduct thorough research before making any investment decisions in this ever-evolving landscape.
