Bitcoin experienced a sharp decline during Asian trading hours, falling below $100,000 as widespread market turbulence impacted the broader crypto and stock markets.
According to CryptoSlate’s data, BTC declined by more than 6% during the last 24 hours to as low as the $97,000 level before recovering to $99,290 as of press time.
The drop breaks the momentum that pushed Bitcoin to its all-time high of $109,000 ahead of US President Donald *****’s inauguration. Analysts note that this downturn effectively signals the end of a *****-induced rally that defined the late 2024 market.
Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of BitMEX, warned of further declines. He suggested Bitcoin could briefly dip to between $70,000 and $75,000 but remains bullish for the long term.
Hayes projects that Bitcoin will hit $250,000 before the year ends, citing potential financial instability and renewed monetary easing as key catalysts.
Meanwhile, other major cryptocurrencies mirrored Bitcoin’s trajectory. Ethereum, BNB, Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, and Cardano each lost up to 9%, reflecting widespread market caution.
The stock market falls, too
Moreover, the ripple effect of the crypto market decline was also evident in US stock indices, with futures for the Nasdaq 100 falling over 2%.
The Kobeissi Letter estimated that US equity markets could shed $1 trillion in market value, highlighting the scale of investor apprehension.
The firm attributed the market turbulence to DeepSeek’s growing popularity, which propelled it to the top spot in the App Store and fueled concerns over its impact on major US tech firms.
DeepSeek is a Chinese artificial intelligence company whose free and open-source R1 model has overtaken OpenAI’s ChatGPT performance. Venture Capitalist Marc Andreessen described the app as:
“AI’s Sputnik moment.”
Liquidation frenzy
The widespread crypto market volatility triggered a liquidation spree, with data from CoinGlass showing over $855 billion wiped out. This impacted more than 313,000 traders.
According to the data, long traders—those betting on price increases—suffered the heaviest losses, accounting for $794 billion. On the other hand, short traders, who wagered on price drops, lost approximately $59 million.
Bitcoin traders faced the most significant losses, with liquidations totaling around $259 million, including $247.5 million from long positions. Ethereum traders followed, recording $110 million in liquidations, with $104.8 million from long positions.
The largest single liquidation event occurred on HTX, involving a $98 million BTC-USDT long position.
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