Bitcoin fell to $63,280 on Saturday, its lowest price since Aug 17, as a 24 hour selloff wiped $230 billion from the total cryptocurrency market capitalization. The token dropped 2.6% in 35 minutes during the afternoon to sit 6.8% lower on the day and 16.9% below its $76,152 peak from a week earlier, erasing all of its gains since Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory and pushing its year to date loss to roughly 27%.
Major tokens posted steeper 24 hour declines than Bitcoin, with Solana falling 11.79%, XRP dropping 10.92%, Ether sliding 9.36% below $1,750, and BNB losing 9.34%. The downturn triggered up to $1.8 billion in 24 hour forced derivatives liquidations, including $700 million in long positions wiped out in a single hour and more than $500 million in Bitcoin longs alone.
The six week slide has erased $330 billion from the crypto market this week and $700 billion since Oct 1. Selling gained momentum after hotter than expected October US inflation data lifted December Federal Reserve rate hike odds to roughly 90%, alongside rising Treasury yields, a stronger dollar, tech stock losses following Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s resignation, and more than $2.5 billion in spot Bitcoin ETF outflows over two weeks.