Bitcoin Price Rally Crashes: $295M in Long Positions Erased Amid Strong Jobs Data
The Bitcoin price rally came to an abrupt end on Friday, wiping out $295M in long positions. The cryptocurrency's sharp sell-off was sparked by stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data that reduced the odds of a Federal Reserve rate cut.
According to overnight data, Bitcoin briefly pushed above $82,000 for the first time in over three months, hitting an intraday peak of $82,281. However, it quickly lost momentum and pulled back before finding support near $81,000.
The sudden plunge from just over $81,300 to $79,428 in less than 20 minutes caught long-position traders off guard, with Coinglass reporting that erased long positions made up nearly 55% of the roughly $193 million in leveraged positions liquidated by 12:23 p.m.
As a result of the sell-off extending to altcoins, long bets liquidated across the cryptocurrency market topped $295 million, compared with $213 million in short positions. This unexpected reversal sent shockwaves through risk markets, with investors dumping both stocks and crypto due to fears that sustained employment strength will compel central bankers to keep borrowing costs elevated indefinitely.