Bitcoin's price plummeted to a four-month low on Sunday, November 15, as a wave of liquidations swept through the cryptocurrency market. The selloff followed two weeks of withdrawals from US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and growing concerns over US interest rates. Bitcoin dropped 5.7% during US trading on Saturday before hitting about USD 62,022 in Asian trading on Sunday, its lowest level since July 14. Although it later recovered to roughly USD 64,600, it remained significantly lower than the previous week's levels.
The broader cryptocurrency market also took a hit, losing 4.42% over 24 hours. Ethereum fell to around USD 1,711 before rebounding toward USD 1,800. Bitcoin has seen a decline of more than 20% since October 21. The selling pressure was fueled by investor worries about higher US interest rates and losses in technology-related assets, compounded by the recent Binance security breach.
CoinGlass data revealed approximately USD 1.97 billion in cryptocurrency positions liquidated during the 24 hours through Sunday noon in Singapore. Bitcoin accounted for about USD 758 million, while Ethereum represented roughly USD 466 million. Most of these forced closures involved long positions, which traders use when they expect prices to rise. Liquidations occur when exchanges close leveraged trades that no longer have enough collateral, adding to the selling pressure.
Rich Rosenblum, co-founder of crypto market maker GSR, described the decline as a technical move, linking it to Bitcoin's break below its 200-day moving average near USD 73,000. This triggered further liquidations and short positions. Rosenblum suggested Bitcoin could be approaching a technical floor, although the cryptocurrency had yet to establish a sustained recovery following Sunday's decline.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded roughly USD 2.35 billion in net withdrawals across the two weeks ending November 13. Outflows totaled USD 1.07 billion during the latest week, after USD 1.28 billion the week before. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust accounted for USD 143.5 million of Friday's outflows, while Fidelity's FBTC lost USD 41.9 million. The next US ETF trading session on November 16 will provide another measure of fund demand. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its next interest-rate decision on December 9.