Bitcoin Drops $2,000 in 20 Minutes Amid Massive Liquidations

Bitcoin’s price experienced a dramatic drop of $2,000 in just 20 minutes earlier this morning, following a period of relative stability above $85,600. The sudden downturn triggered a wave of liquidations, with over $550 million in positions wiped out on a daily scale. Nearly $430 million of these liquidations occurred in the past four hours, primarily affecting long positions, especially those involving Ethereum (ETH).

The largest single liquidation order, worth $26 million, occurred on Binance and involved the ETH/USDC pair, according to CoinGlass. Altcoins such as XRP, HYPE, DOGE, and ADA also suffered significant losses, with some dropping by up to 6% in 24 hours. In total, more than 100,000 traders were impacted by the market turbulence.

Two potential reasons for the sharp decline have emerged. First, the US government transferred 834 BTC ($71.56 million) and 40,285 BNB to Coinbase Prime. Although this movement does not necessarily indicate a sale, it has raised speculation about its impact on the market. Second, Lookonchain reported that four newly created wallets deposited $1 million USDC into Hyperliquid just minutes before the crash, opening 40x shorts on nearly 150 BTC ($12.5 million), suggesting possible insider involvement.