The cryptocurrency market has experienced a turbulent start to November. Massive crypto liquidations have exceeded $1.16 billion in the last 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data. Bitcoin, which failed to deliver the expected “Uptober” gains in October, has fallen by 4%. However, altcoins like Ethereum, XRP, and Dogecoin have suffered even steeper declines, sending shockwaves across the sector.
The vast majority of liquidated positions, $1.08 billion, were long positions. That is, bets that an asset’s price would rise. Bitcoin and Ethereum are currently leading this wave of liquidations. They have recorded approximately $298 million and $273 million, respectively. Bitcoin has fallen to $105,699, its lowest level since October 17. Ethereum, for its part, plunged 7% to $3,583. This represents a nearly three-month low. Other altcoins also showed sharp declines. XRP was down 7% to $2.33, while BNB, Solana, and Dogecoin experienced drops of around 9%.
This recent plunge has had no obvious catalyst. Especially since stock indices like the Nasdaq and S&P 500 remained in the green. Noted analyst Maartunn from CryptoQuant pointed out potential factors on X. These include selling pressure from U.S. spot Bitcoin traders. Additionally, he observed “signs of fragility” in the Ethereum charts. Both cryptocurrencies have been retesting support levels recently.
Is support fragility a harbinger of further declines or a buying opportunity?
Maartunn explained that in strong bullish phases, retests of support levels typically do not occur. This is because “they are front-run.” However, “in more bearish periods, such retests are more likely.” He noted that multiple tests of the same support level are not a bullish sign. It implies that new buyers simply get exhausted at some point. He also mentioned that the “Coinbase premium” might have played a role. This is the difference between Coinbase’s spot price and the average across exchanges.
The “Coinbase premium gap disappeared” over the weekend. This happened because trading desks were closed. However, “once Monday morning came around, the Coinbase premium turned negative again.” This continued into the market open. This “shows that U.S. investors have a large influence on the price,” which also happened last month. This dynamic highlights the influence of major markets on the global cryptocurrency economy.
The short-term outlook for the cryptocurrency market is uncertain. Prices began to slip on Sunday. This followed remarks from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He spoke about the impact of high interest rates on the economy. He indicated that “parts of the economy” may have been “driven into recession.” Crypto traders may be bracing for short-term volatility ahead of this week’s jobs report.
