Leveraged long positions liquidated in a cascade, Bitcoin falls below $64,000 to a three-month low; market maker says technical bottom is "approaching"?

The cryptocurrency market suffered another heavy blow over the weekend. As leveraged long positions were liquidated on a large scale, Bitcoin briefly fell to a three-month low just above $63,000. During Saturday's U.S. trading session, the largest digital asset dropped 5.7%; the decline continued during Sunday's Asian session, touching a low of $63,311 for a further 1.7% drop, the weakest level since August 17. The second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, performed even worseafter plunging 8% during the U.S. session, it fell to $1,731 on Sunday, a new low since July 9. Technical Breakdown Triggers Wave of Liquidations "I think this is a technical decline: Bitcoin broke below its 200-day moving average of about $73,000, which triggered a cascade of liquidations and spawned new short positions," said Rich Rosenblum, co-founder of crypto market maker GSR. In recent weeks, cryptocurrencies have been repeatedly battered by multiple negative factors: rising rate-hike expectations, large outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, risk-off sentiment triggered by the AI trade, and the aftermath of the recent $6 billion Binance hack. Since October 21, Bitcoin has fallen about 25% cumulatively; its year-to-date low was $57,742 set on July 1. Scale of Liquidations: $1.9 Billion in 24 Hours, Overwhelmingly Longs Mass liquidation eventsin which more than $500 million of Bitcoin positions are wiped out within 24 hoursare becoming a recurring feature of the market, with violent swings continually flushing out leveraged traders. According to Coinglass data, last Friday's Bitcoin decline triggered the liquidation of about $1.3 billion in long crypto positions within 24 hours, with Bitcoin positions accounting for the bulk. In the 24 hours through 7 a.m. Singapore time on Sunday, exchanges tracked by Coinglass recorded about $1.9 billion in crypto liquidations, including $684 million in Bitcoin and $466 million in Ethereumlong positions accounted for the overwhelming majority of the liquidation amount. It is worth noting that fund outflows are also accelerating: between October 30 and November 13, U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net outflows of nearly $3 billion. However, Rosenblum believes Bitcoin may be approaching a technical bottom: "Over the past year, Bitcoin has found support at or slightly below this level multiple times, and we are approaching the lower edge of a long-term trend channel."