Cryptos See Over $1B in Liquidations as Bitcoin, Ether Lose Major Support Levels
Crypto exchange FTX recorded over $417 million in liquidations, the most among its counterparts, followed by OKX at $251 million and Binance at $198 million.
Open interest – or the number of unsettled futures contracts – decreased by 7% in the past 24 hours to $23 billion, suggesting a considerable number of traders closed their positions expecting further market volatility.
Bitcoin traded at just over $22,000 in European hours on Tuesday, continuing a nearly 12-week slide. The asset has lost some 66% of its value from lifetime highs of $69,000 in November.
Much of the decline in the past few months has come as the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) plans to hike rates in the coming months to battle the ill effects of record inflation – a move that has inadvertently caused a slide in global stocks and subsequently cryptocurrencies as investors take money off assets deemed risky.
Sentiment among market observers remains bearish with some warning of ‘severe losses’ ahead.