Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and Solana Fall as Crypto Liquidations Top $1 Billion
Bitcoin briefly fell below $75,000 as more than $1 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated within 24 hours. Ethereum hit a 10-week low, while XRP suffered the steepest drop among the largest cryptocurrencies, amid stock-market weakness, ETF outflows and regulatory uncertainty.
Crypto Crash: Why Bitcoin, ETH, XRP and SOL Fell came into focus Friday as Bitcoin briefly traded below $75,000 and more than $1 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated within 24 hours.
The sell-off erased the post-election rally and came as technology stocks weakened, funds flowed out of exchange-traded products and traders reassessed regulatory risks. Most of the liquidated positions were bets that prices would rise.
Bitcoin fell around 6 percent to the $75,500 area, its lowest intraday level since mid-September. It was on course for a fifth consecutive losing week.
Bitcoin accounted for roughly $267 million of the liquidations, while Ethereum accounted for about $167 million. Trading desks identified $75,000 as near-term support and $80,000 as a ceiling that had capped the recent rally.
Ethereum dropped roughly 8 percent to around $2,230, its lowest level in 10 weeks. The token has underperformed Bitcoin for most of the autumn, and their relative price ratio has continued to fall.
XRP was the weakest major cryptocurrency, losing close to 9 percent to around $1.20 after falling more than 10 percent at one point during the day. The move had no XRP-specific news behind it, the report said, as the token reacted to wider market pressure.
Solana fell about 6.6 percent, briefly slipped below $90 and then recovered to around $90.40. Its exchange-traded funds also recorded outflows, while the market’s attention remained on broader risk sentiment.
Why did Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies fall?
Weakness in technology stocks, regulatory uncertainty, withdrawals from funds and a fresh exchange-related concern weighed on prices. The Nasdaq had one of its worst sessions in a long time Friday, and crypto assets followed the decline.
Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds saw around $430 million in outflows Thursday. Net withdrawals for the week reached roughly $870 million through Thursday, putting the year-to-date balance into negative territory. Solana funds also saw modest outflows.
Traders also responded to uncertainty about the sector’s regulatory direction after the midterm elections. The initial crypto rally following Democrats’ gains in Congress reversed as the market began pricing in the prospect of a tougher approach.
A separate shock came Thursday evening, when the US Treasury cut a top-20 exchange off from the dollar system, raising concerns about counterparties. The exchange was identified as MEXC.
Bitcoin’s next technical levels were flagged at $73,000 and $68,000 if volatility continues. Those levels were described as reference points, not forecasts. For Ethereum, traders were watching whether $2,200 would hold as support.
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index fell to 28, a reading in fear territory. Market participants were also watching early-next-week ETF flows and whether Bitcoin could reclaim $80,000 or fall to $73,000.
