Bitcoin tumbles to three-month low as liquidations accelerate
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Bitcoin slumped to a three-month low of just above US$63,000 (S$81,200) over the weekend.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Bitcoin fell to a three-month low of just above US$63,000 after leveraged long positions were liquidated, while Ether also dropped sharply.
- Traders blamed higher rate hopes, US spot Bitcoin ETF outflows, a risk-off mood, and fallout from the US$6 billion Binance hack.
- Coinglass data showed about US$1.9 billion in crypto liquidations in 24 hours, and GSR’s Rich Rosenblum said Bitcoin may be near a technical floor.
AI generated
WELLINGTON – Cryptocurrencies tumbled over the weekend, with Bitcoin slumping to a three-month low of just above US$63,000 (S$81,200) as leveraged long positions were liquidated.
The largest digital asset sank 5.7% in the US on Nov 14 and continued to drop in Asia on Nov 15 to as low as US$63,311, down a further 1.7% and its weakest since Aug 17. Second-biggest token Ether, which slumped 8% in the US session, fell to US$1,731 on Sunday, its lowest since July 9.
“I think this is a technical move, as Bitcoin broke down through its 200-day moving average of about US$73,000, which has caused a slew of liquidations and new shorts to develop,” said Rich Rosenblum, co-founder of crypto market maker GSR.
Crypto has been pummelled in recent weeks by a confluence of factors including the expectation of higher interest rates, large outflows from US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, an AI-fuelled risk-off mood and continued fallout from the recent US$6 billion Binance hack.
Bitcoin has slumped about 25% since Oct 21. Its low for 2026 is US$57,742, reached on July 1.
Large liquidation events – in which more than US$500 million worth of Bitcoin positions are wiped over 24 hours – are becoming a recurring feature in the market, as sharp swings repeatedly flush leveraged traders out of their bets.
On Nov 13, Bitcoin’s slide triggered the liquidation of roughly US$1.3 billion in long crypto bets over 24 hours, with Bitcoin positions accounting for the majority of that sum, according to Coinglass data.
In the 24 hours through 7am on Nov 15 in Singapore, exchanges tracked by Coinglass recorded about US$1.9 billion of crypto liquidations, including US$684 million in Bitcoin and US$466 million in Ether. Long positions accounted for the vast majority of the liquidations.
From Oct 30 through Nov 13, US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs saw almost US$3 billion in net outflows.
Rosenblum said Bitcoin may be nearing a technical floor.
“Bitcoin has seen support at levels at or just below here over the last year, and we are approaching the bottom of a long term trend-channel,” he said. BLOOMBERG