Crypto markets retreat after liquidation of $737 million

The recent crypto rally that commenced mid-July appears to be cooling off as top 10 market cap ranked assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana are all trading in the red. A broad market correction is currently underway, against the backdrop of $737 million worth of liquidations and signs of fading retail enthusiasm.

Data from CoinGlass shows that at the start of Thursday’s Asian market session, more than 243,000 traders were liquidated, totaling over $737 million in value. 85.3% of the liquidations were long positions, forcing the overly bullish positions among retail traders out of the market. 

Ethereum traders were the biggest liquidation losers heading into Thursday, having lost $198 million to the derivatives market. The asset was followed by XRP, BTC, and SOL, which counted $115, $84, and $58 million in liquidations, respectively.

Julio Moreno, head of research at CryptoQuant, believes altcoins Ethereum, XRP, and Solana may now enter a short-term correction phase.

Bitcoin enters consolidation phase after failing to break $124K barrier

Bitcoin (BTC) briefly surged past $123,000 on July 14 to record a new all-time high. However, since the start of the business week, the asset began consolidating in the $116,000–$120,000 range, where it has been stuck for several days. 

Santiment’s on-chain social data suggests that retail sentiment has cooled significantly. During the June 22 Iran-U.S. airstrike news cycle, fear and uncertainty created what analysts dubbed an “optimal time to buy,” with social volume spiking around lower BTC price mentions. But following the new high on July 14, elevated mentions of $130K–$160K price levels indicate exuberance, often seen at market tops.

By July 19, crowd sentiment had already begun to doubt further upside following the breach of May’s high. Still, if BTC closes above $120,000 on a daily basis, a renewed push toward the all-time high at $123,218 could follow.

Ethereum lead rally but dropped push to ATH

After hitting highs around $3,525 and testing the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level, Ethereum (ETH) was only slightly higher on Thursday. The broader uptrend, which began after bottoming out at $1,385 in April, has now paused.

Tristan Teo, founder of Elfa AI, noted a rise in ask skew, suggesting a possible local reversal. Ryan McMillin of Merkle Tree Capital added that Ethereum’s pause is understandable after its extended run, though he cautioned that over 500,000 ETH remain queued for unstaking, which could unsettle ETF-related flows.

XRP Upbit whale dump stifles price momentum

Ripple’s XRP has experienced a 15% drop in the past 24 hours, sliding to $3.05 after a significant sell-off on South Korean exchange Upbit. According to analyst Dom, over 75 million XRP were offloaded in a single move, negatively impacting the token’s price due to shallow order books.

Just days earlier, XRP had surged 92% from $1.95 to a seven-day high of $3.66. Technical indicators pointed to bullish continuation, with a 4-hour bull pennant targeting $4.20 and the weekly MACD flipping green for the first time since XRP’s 2024 bull run. 

A move above the 5.5% dominance threshold for XRP, which has acted as a cap for over 2,000 days, could unlock further upside. But for now, price action has turned defensive, and bulls will have to hold on to the $3.00 and $3.10 zone to avoid more losses.

Solana tests $180 support after 7% 24h drop

Solana (SOL) has fallen 7% over the last 24 hours, with its price hovering around $185 after peaking at $205 on Wednesday, according to CoinGecko. The altcoin recently broke above a medium-term falling trend and confirmed an inverse head and shoulders formation by breaching resistance at $156 and running straight to levels above $200.

Analyst Trader Tardigrade noted a cup-and-handle pattern on Solana’s chart stretching back to 2021, in a recent post on X. The neckline of this long-term formation sits around $250. If breached, it would activate a pattern target between $4,800 and $6,000, more than 3,000% increase from current levels. 

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