Bitcoin drops below $73,000 as cryptocurrency liquidations approach $1 billion

The cryptocurrency market saw nearly $1 billion in liquidations over the past day as Bitcoin fell below $73,000, with US investors continuing to withdraw capital from spot Bitcoin ETFs amid rising geopolitical tensions.

Bitcoin It fell to an intraday low of $72,712 on Tuesday, and is currently trading at $73,330, down 3.3% over the past 24 hours, per CoinGecko data. Bitcoin’s performance over the past week and year remains lackluster at -6% and -33% respectively – underscoring the state of the cryptocurrency markets, especially as the US stock market, fueled by the AI ​​boom, continues to rise. The S&P 500 is fair 0.25% below its all-time high of 7,539.

Over the past 24 hours, $931 million worth of positions were liquidated in the cryptocurrency market, according to Quinglass Data, even as Bitcoin fell less than 4%. It highlights that investors are using high leverage even as the leading cryptocurrencies continue to decline in the $77,000 to $78,000 range.

What drives deflation?

The cryptocurrency market’s decline comes as Bitcoin ETFs have been in a steady outflow over the past two weeks. In just three days, total outflows this week reached $1.02 billion, in addition to outflows of $1.26 billion and $1 billion over the past two weeks, according to bank data. SoSoValue Data.

Additionally, BlackRock’s IBIT shares worth approximately $1.3 billion were traded in the dark pool on Tuesday. Although the transaction occurred outside the order books, Experts have pointed to the trade As a net negative for the ecosystem.

“This is partly due to ETF outflows, with significant amounts exiting; this suggests a recalibration of the true trend rather than just taking profits or perhaps adjusting hedging exposure,” said Justin Dannithan, head of research at private cryptocurrency markets consultancy Arctic Digital. Decryption.

Another major driver of cryptocurrency price movement is the escalation of conflict in the Middle East. The fragile month-long ceasefire between the United States and Iran is on the verge of complete collapse after a sharp escalation in tensions Direct military clashes near the Strait of Hormuz during the past 48 hours.

As a result, WTI prices are hovering around $92 per barrel. In the prediction market Countlessowned by DecryptionParent company Dastan, users are now taking a chance The next step for WTI is up to $120 By 58% compared to 54% yesterday.

Adam Himes, head of asset management at Tesseract Group, said the Iran-related news pressured the price in a structure that had been weakening for two weeks. Decryption. “ETF outflows remain net negative, the Coinbase Premium Index has remained negative during both the rally and pullback, and the order book depth on Coinbase in the tens of millions is within 2 percent of the middle. When the book is this thin, each macro address moves the price further than the underlying flow warrants, without changing the order.”

Investor sentiment continues to decline along with the price, with countless users placing the chance of Bitcoin falling to $55,000 at… 38% todayUp from 22% a week ago.