Selling pressure intensified in the cryptocurrency market during the US trading session today. Bitcoin, which was trading around $73,500 this morning, fell below $72,000 to $71,300, reaching its lowest level since August. Ethereum also dropped below $2,000, while XRP approached the $1 mark.
According to CoinGlass data, Bitcoin is trading at approximately $71,369, down 2.91% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum fell 2.73% to $1,999.53, and Solana dropped 3.58% to $80.84. XRP fell to $1.0174, and BNB to $652. Among altcoins that felt the sell-off even harder were Dogecoin, which fell 5.09%, and NEAR, which dropped 8.86%.
Nvidia News Arrives, Bond Yields Rise Following
Before US markets opened, Nvidia announced that its founder and CEO, Jensen Huang, had resigned from his position and his membership on the board. The company’s chief financial officer, Colette Kress, was appointed as interim CEO. Following the announcement, Nvidia shares fell by approximately 10% before the opening, while Bitcoin dropped to around $72,400.
When US stock markets opened, losses on the Nasdaq were limited to around 0.35% in the first half hour. Broadcom and AMD shares rose by approximately 3% during the same period. Bitcoin, despite the limited decline in the technology index, continued its downward trend, reaching $71,300.
Another development that increased pressure on the crypto market was the rise in US Treasury yields. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said that inflationary pressures were spreading more widely and that monetary policy needed to be tightened. At the time of these statements, the two-year US Treasury yield, which is sensitive to Fed expectations, rose 7.2 basis points to 4.80 percent.
The US inflation data released on Tuesday is keeping the interest rate hike debate alive. Consumer prices rose 0.4% month-on-month in October, exceeding expectations of 0.3%. Core inflation, excluding food and energy, increased by 0.3% for the third consecutive month. Federal Reserve member Christopher Waller also stated in a speech this week that further tightening of monetary policy is needed to bring inflation back to the 2% target.
Money is Leaving Bitcoin ETFs for Five Consecutive Sessions
Bitcoin was caught in today’s sell-off during a period of weak demand in spot ETFs. According to Farside Investors data, $299.8 million flowed out of US spot Bitcoin ETFs in the last completed session. This marks the fifth consecutive session of net outflows, bringing the total amount withdrawn from the funds during this period to approximately $1.44 billion.
In the last session, the largest outflow was seen in BlackRock’s IBIT fund, with $269.7 million. Grayscale’s GBTC fund saw a $39.1 million outflow, while Morgan Stanley’s MSBT fund gained $9 million. Spot Ethereum ETFs also recorded a net outflow of $144.8 million in the same session. The total net outflow across the two fund groups was $444.6 million.
Bitcoin Long Positions Take the Biggest Hit in Leveraged Trading
CoinGlass’s chart for the last 24 hours shows liquidations totaling $305.23 million in Bitcoin positions and $126.35 million in Ethereum positions. Of this amount, $266.45 million in Bitcoin and $104.74 million in Ethereum came from long positions.
Liquidations in Solana totaled $23.63 million, in XRP $12.78 million, and in Dogecoin approximately $11.17 million. Liquidations in these five cryptocurrencies alone exceeded $479 million, with approximately $414 million of that coming from long positions. The forced closing of leveraged positions as prices fall can increase selling pressure.
*This is not investment advice.
