Crypto Market Wipes Out Both Longs and Shorts as Bitcoin Falls Below $82,000 and Ether Drops Below $2,400

TradingKey - The crypto market experienced a rollercoaster ride, with Bitcoin surging before dropping below $82,000 again, while Ethereum fell below $2,400.

On October 22, the crypto market rallied and then pulled back. Bitcoin dropped below the $82,000 mark to trade at $81,730; Ethereum simultaneously fell below $2,400 to trade at $2,396. Yesterday, Bitcoin's price surged close to $85,000 and Ethereum broke above the $2,500 mark, both reaching new highs for the past half month.

Bitcoin price chart, source: CoinMarketCap

The sharp swings in the two major cryptocurrencies triggered intense volatility across other crypto assets, resulting in massive liquidations for both long and short positions. According to Coinglass data, over 100,000 traders were liquidated across the network in 24 hours, with total liquidations surging to $431 million, long positions accounting for nearly 60% and short positions about 40%.

The rally in Bitcoin and the broader crypto market stalled, mainly because U.S. inflation data continued to come in higher than expected, casting doubts on the Federal Reserve's rate-cut path in November and December. The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) and U.S. Treasury yields both climbed strongly, triggering defensive deleveraging across global capital markets. This also implies that unless liquidity is released, Bitcoin prices will primarily fluctuate at high levels or even trend lower.