• The crypto market experienced its worst sell-off on March 10, resulting in Bitcoin slipping below $20,000 for the first time in three months.
• Derivative traders have lost approximately $202 million in the past 24 hours due to liquidations of active trading positions.
• The negative developments surrounding Silvergate Capital Corporation and Kucoin’s lawsuit has contributed to the bearish sentiment of the market.
Crypto Market Sells Off
The crypto market suddenly turned red on March 10th in one of the year’s worst sell-offs. Bitcoin slipped below $20,000 for the first time in three months and sent a wave of bearishness through the markets.
Derivative Traders Suffer Huge Losses
Data from CoinGlass revealed that derivative traders have lost around $202 million over a period of 24 hours. Leveraged trading or futures market involves speculating using derivatives or loans from exchanges, with traders able to go long (speculate a rise) or go short (speculate a dip). When prices reach a certain level against their position, trades are liquidated leading to losses for investors. According to CoinGlass data, BTC suffered the largest liquidation volumes at more than $60 million followed by Ethereum’s close second with $52 million – both being two of the most traded tokens in the crypto market.
The Worst Since Mid-January
The liquidation numbers are amongst the highest recorded since mid-January when more than $490 million was liquidated across different exchanges during another bearish movement of the market.
Factors Affecting The Crash
The price dip affecting cryptocurrencies recently has been attributed to several developments including Silvergate’s announcement that it would be shutting down operations and New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against Kucoin alleging that ETH is a security and was offered without proper registration.
Conclusion
The steep price dip affecting cryptocurrencies has resulted in heavy losses for derivative traders who have seen millions of dollars worth of active trading positions liquidated over the past 24 hours alone – making this one of the worst sell-offs since mid-January this year. Negative developments surrounding Silvergate Capital Corporation and Kucoin are likely contributors behind this bearish sentiment plaguing markets currently.