What happened over the weekend
Leverage went the wrong way and the market paid for it. Bitcoin fell 5.7% during US hours on Saturday, then kept sliding in Asian trading on Sunday to a low of $62,112, another 3.6% down and the softest level since July 14. Ether was hit even harder, dropping 8% during the US session before easing another 3.4% on Sunday to $1,711, its weakest mark since July 8.
The scale of the liquidations
Big wipeouts are no longer rare. Large liquidation events - more than $500 million of Bitcoin positions cleared within a single day - have been showing up again and again as sharp price moves sweep out leveraged traders. Coinglass data show that Friday's slump wiped out roughly $1.3 billion in bullish crypto positions during a single day, and Bitcoin accounted for the majority of the losses.
In the 24 hours up to 9 a.m. Sunday in Singapore, Coinglass-tracked venues showed roughly $2 billion in crypto liquidations, including $774 million tied to Bitcoin and $488 million linked to Ether, with longs comprising the bulk.
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Why sentiment soured
Headwinds have mounted, including expectations for higher interest rates, sizable outflows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs, an AI-driven risk-off mood, and the continued repercussions of the recent $6 billion Binance hack. Rich Rosenblum of GSR - the crypto market-making firm he co-founded - said, "I think this is a technical move, as Bitcoin broke down through its 200-day moving average of about $73,000, which has caused a slew of liquidations and new shorts to develop."
Flows are not helping. From Oct. 30 to Nov. 13, net outflows from US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs totaled close to $3 billion. Richard Galvin, who serves as executive chairman at the crypto investment firm DACM, said the upcoming initial public offering of artificial intelligence firm Anthropic PBC may be drawing funds away from digital assets.
"Price performance looks very similar to what happened through the SpaceX IPO pricing period earlier this year," Galvin said. "It appears crypto remains a short term funding source, particularly for retail investors. This is in addition to all the other macro headwinds."
What this means for investors
Bitcoin is down about 25% since Oct. 21 and remains above its 2024 trough of $57,742 set on July 1. In plain English: frequent liquidation cascades and ETF outflows are shaping near term price action, and leveraged exposure is bearing the brunt.
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