Bitcoin dropped to about $72,150 on most exchanges, a multi-month low, while ether fell below $2,000 for the first time since Aug. 19 as crypto prices extended losses. The move followed comments by U.S. President Donald Trump that the country does not need a deal with Iran.
The selloff liquidated about $220 million in long positions in one hour, while total daily liquidations reached $530 million. Hourly liquidation data showed $222 million in the past hour, including $217 million in longs.
Bitcoin's slide
Bitcoin had stood at $81,000 eight days earlier before a rejection and a drop to $75,600. It fell below $75,000 on Friday, traded near $76,000 over the weekend, then slipped below $73,000 on Tuesday after a higher-than-expected CPI reading. It later tried to recover toward $75,000 but was rejected, falling to $73,500 before the latest drop to $72,150.
Altcoins and liquidations
Ether's drop below $2,000 marked its first time under that level in almost three months. XRP hit a local low of $1.02, while NEAR fell almost 10% to under $3.40. XMR, HYPE, ZEC, DOGE and SOL were also well in the red.
Bitcoin accounted for $92.61 million of the past-hour liquidations, while ether followed with almost $59 million. Nearly 110,000 traders were wiped out, and the largest single liquidation was a BTC/USDT position on Hyperliquid worth more than $31 million.
Brent and WTI futures rose by more than 1%, in contrast with the crypto market.
