Crypto market clears $159M in long liquidations as market cools

Just a day after setting new records, BTC took a downturn. The market saw the highest level of long liquidations for the past week, reaching $159M in an hour. 

The crypto market switched to long liquidations once again, reaching the highest level for the past week. Within an hour of prices taking a downturn, the market reached $159M in long liquidations. An estimated 114,915 traders were liquidated during the recent downturn. 

The downturn followed the direction of BTC, which dipped under $122,000, sliding from its previous attempt to hold above $125,000. The leading coin sank to $121,837 during the early USA trading hours, causing drawdowns across the board. 

ETH also fell from its recent levels above $4,600, returning to $4,494.38. The token was also the liquidation leader, with $53.89M in liquidations within one hour. BTC hourly liquidations reached $39.70M. Bybit was the leader in terms of long liquidations, at over $90.10M, over 91% of all open positions. 

BTC resets open interest after long liquidations

BTC open interest resets after reaching a recent peak above $45.8B. Following the recent liquidations, overall open interest fell to $43.2B. 

The current liquidation event is still a relatively small reset of open positions, following the $2.29B in long liquidations on September 22. The crypto market expected BTC to quickly rebuild positions and even mark new all-time highs. 

The price action in the past weeks has shown BTC traders often sweep liquidity available both above and below the current price. Following the recent price records, BTC now stands between a new set of positions, with short liquidity up to $126,000. 

Some of the traders closed their long positions, which at one point held $4B in notional value. After the recent downturn, fewer long positions remain, based on the updated liquidation heatmap. The current profit-taking and deleveraging are seen as a temporary setback, before BTC rebuilds confidence and potentially turns the previous high levels into support.

BTC establishes new support level

Following the recent rally, BTC established a new support level around $117,000. Glassnode data shows support around $121,000-$120,000 is relatively weak, while buyers added 190,000 BTC at $117,000, setting a potential support level. 

The current cycle has shown fewer capitulations and spot selling, as silent accumulation continues. The effect of the derivative markets remains strong, but spot selling is still subdued. BTC volatility is also at 1.12%, near an all-time low. However, price moves are still capable of shifting the BTC range. 

Even with the recent liquidations, the crypto fear and greed index expanded to 70 points, signaling greed. One of the expectations is that BTC may quickly rebuild liquidity and continue with its expansion in October. 

BTC dominance was still at 56.8%, though the coin remained the leader for market direction. While altcoins are having regular pumps, the assets failed to outperform the recent BTC price moves. 

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