The cryptocurrency market started the new business week with sharp declines, as Bitcoin (BTC) fell to a fresh multi-month low of $73,500. The leading altcoin, Ethereum (ETH), came close to dropping below $2,000 for the first time since mid-August. XRP also declined, trading at $1.09 as of press time after dipping to $1.06.
Market Volatility Persists
November has been a painful month for the entire market, which already ended October with massive declines, especially following the Binance hack at the end of the month. Last week brought another highly volatile session after the conclusion of the US midterms, in which BTC first dipped from $78,000 to $75,600, before it exploded to $81,000, only to be rejected again and to crash below $75,000.
It rebounded over the weekend and remained relatively stable at $76,000 despite new attacks between the US and Iran. However, fluctuations returned on Monday morning, and the bears were in control again. Hours ago, BTC crumbled to its lowest level since the breakout rally began in mid-August at $73,500. Despite recovering some ground since then, the cryptocurrency is still below $74,500.
Most altcoins have charted even more painful declines, including ETH, which tanked below $2,100. PI has slumped to a new all-time low, while RAY, ASTER, STX, and LIT have declined by 6% or slightly more.
Liquidations on the Rise
These intense market moves have harmed over-leveraged traders. Data from CoinGlass shows that more than 155,000 market participants have been liquidated in the past 24 hours. The total value of liquidated positions has exceeded $1 billion, with longs responsible for over $930 million.
ETH has been among the most volatile crypto assets today, and liquidated longs lead the pack, well above BTC, at $455 million. The single-largest wiped-out position also involved the leading altcoin. It was worth almost $50 million and took place on Binance.
