The cryptocurrency market has experienced a sharp downturn, with bullish bets on higher prices suffering a staggering $770 million loss in the past 24 hours. Bitcoin’s dramatic fall below $100,000 triggered a wave of losses across major altcoins, signaling a bloody start to the week for crypto traders.
Solana’s SOL and Dogecoin (DOGE) led the charge with more than 10% declines, while Ether (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB), XRP, and Cardano’s ADA also faced significant losses of up to 9%. Overall, the global market cap dropped by 8.5% during Asian afternoon hours on Monday, as traders reacted to the market’s volatility.
Tokens beyond the top 20 experienced similar struggles, with memecoin Pepe (PEPE), layer-1 blockchain Aptos (APT), Gate.io’s GATE token, and AI platform Virtuals (VIRTUALS) losing as much as 18%. Amidst this widespread red, Jupiter (JUP) stood out with a 3.5% gain, following a strategic decision to buy back tokens from the open market using trading platform fees, which could amount to hundreds of millions in net buying volumes over the year.
The sharp decline in Bitcoin, which fell under $99,000 early Monday, was partly driven by traders taking profits ahead of the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Bitcoin mirrored the losses in U.S. stock futures, which were impacted by concerns over China-based DeepSeek’s capabilities, posing a challenge to the OpenAI narrative. Futures markets reflected the downturn, with BTC-tracked products losing $238 million and other altcoin-related futures seeing cumulative losses of $138 million.
The largest liquidation order of the day occurred on HTX, involving a tether-margined BTC trade valued at $98.4 million. Liquidations, which occur when traders lack sufficient funds to maintain leveraged positions, are common in crypto markets, especially during periods of high volatility.
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This wave of liquidation could signal an overstretched market, suggesting that a price correction may be in play. Traders are now watching closely for potential support or resistance levels where prices could reverse, depending on further market sentiment. If the downturn continues, short positions may gain momentum, while contrarian traders might view the heavy liquidation as an opportunity for a rebound.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is for general purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. The author’s views are personal and may not reflect the views of Chain Affairs. Before making any investment decisions, you should always conduct your own research. Chain Affairs is not responsible for any financial losses.
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