Bitcoin dips below $84,000 as long liquidations surge to $487 million

Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a brief dip below $84,000 on Tuesday, reaching a low of around $83,800. The drop coincided with a surge in crypto long liquidations, which totaled $555.6 million over the past 24 hours, including $487.2 million in long positions, according to CoinGlass data. Within the last four hours of the day, liquidations spiked further, with about $429.8 million wiped out, mostly from long positions.

The world's largest cryptocurrency fell 1.7% over the past 24 hours, trading at $84,071 as of 11:20 p.m. ET Tuesday. Ethereum (ETH) also declined, dropping 3.3% to $2,612. Liquidations occur when traders' positions are forcibly closed due to significant losses or insufficient margin.

Analyst Dominick John of Zeus Research attributed Bitcoin's pullback to profit-taking and forced long liquidations, noting that the market was vulnerable to deleveraging due to a build-up in open interest and funding rates. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index slipped to 62, indicating 'greed,' down from 67 a day earlier, adding to the downside pressure.

Despite the recent volatility, Jeff Ko, chief analyst of ViaBTC, highlighted Bitcoin's strong performance in Q3, which saw a roughly 40% gain alongside $6.5 billion in spot ETF inflows. Ko suggested that if the $82,000-$83,000 support area holds, the current price action could be seen as a constructive consolidation following September's breakout.