Bitcoin and Ether Prices Drop in Market Decline, Bitcoin Below $59K and Ether Falls Nearly 10%
Cryptocurrencies experienced significant declines as the U.S. trading day concluded, with bitcoin (BTC) dropping below $59,000 and Ethereum’s ether (ETH) plummeting by nearly 10%. Earlier in the day, bitcoin had reached over $62,700 but later fell by 6.5% compared to 24 hours prior, hitting a low of $58,240, the lowest level since August 19. Similarly, Ether had surged to $2,700 earlier in the day but later dipped below $2,500.
The exact cause of the market sell-off remains unclear. The sudden downturn led to $313 million in liquidations of leveraged crypto derivatives positions within the past 24 hours, marking the most significant wipeout since the crash on August 5, according to data from CoinGlass. During this period, ETH traders faced over $100 million in liquidations, while BTC traders saw $95 million in liquidations.
Other top-10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization also experienced similar declines. Binance Coin (BNB) dropped nearly 4% to $528, Solana (SOL) fell by 7% to $146, and XRP traded down 4% to $0.56. Dogecoin (DOGE) and Tron (TRX) saw declines of 6.5% and 2.25%, respectively, trading at $0.098 and $0.158.
Interestingly, the Telegram-associated TON token saw a nearly 5% increase over the past 24 hours after a significant drop following the news of Telegram founder Pavel Durov’s arrest in France on various charges.
In summary, the cryptocurrency market witnessed a notable downturn with major digital assets experiencing substantial losses in value. Bitcoin and Ether, the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, faced significant drops, while other altcoins also saw declines in response to the broader market trend. The exact reasons behind the sell-off remain uncertain, but the liquidation of leveraged positions and external factors may have contributed to the market downturn.
