Thomas Daniels
Bitcoin and Ethereum spearheaded the wave of cryptocurrency liquidations, with the fallout impacting over 54,000 traders by erasing their leveraged positions as the market’s valuation approached $2.1 trillion.
According to CoinGlass, the digital currency sphere saw more than $145 million in liquidations within a 24-hour span across various trading platforms. With many investors betting on a price drop, short positions accounted for $91 million of these liquidated trades.
Despite these setbacks, the overall market capitalization of cryptocurrencies experienced a 1.2% increase, as reported by CoinGecko, negating the bearish wagers. The most significant single liquidation involved a $4 million stake in Bitcoin paired with USDT on Binance, the leading cryptocurrency exchange.
Between Bitcoin and Ethereum, traders collectively faced losses exceeding $70 million in both long and short positions. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum have demonstrated positive momentum, with their prices climbing over the past week. These leading digital currencies have enjoyed increases of 3% and 11% respectively, buoyed by optimistic market sentiment.
The green light for Bitcoin ETFs by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on January 10 has been a key factor propelling Bitcoin’s surge, positioning it at $51,800 with a market capitalization surpassing $1 trillion. This valuation ranks Bitcoin as the world’s 10th largest asset, with the upcoming Bitcoin halving in April adding to the anticipation.
Experts suggest that the halving event, which cuts the reward for mined blocks in half, coupled with acquisitions of Bitcoin for spot ETFs, might lead to a supply squeeze amid rising demand, potentially sparking a significant rally for the foremost cryptocurrency.
Ethereum’s recent rally is tied to an impending technological enhancement known as Dencun. Developers claim this upgrade will greatly expand data availability for layer-2 rollups through a new ‘blob’ feature, enhancing the efficiency of adding data to blocks, thus lowering transaction fees and improving scalability.
Dencun is expected to be integrated into Ethereum’s mainnet by mid-March, following successful trials on three testnets: Goerli, Sepolia, and Holesky.
