Bitcoin and Ethereum slipped to their lowest levels in three months on Thursday, extending a broader cryptocurrency selloff that has wiped out approximately $550 billion in aggregate market value since October.
Bitcoin dropped to $71,317, marking its weakest point since August, while Ethereum briefly breached the $2,000 mark to reach $1,983. These losses have reduced the broader crypto market’s total valuation from roughly $2.94 trillion in early October to $2.39 trillion.
This downturn coincides with a pronounced deterioration in market sentiment. CryptoQuant’s Analyst Consensus Index dropped from -1.0 to -1.8 standard deviations within a seven-day window, reflecting growing bearish expectations as investors contend with persistent selling pressure and uncertainty regarding the market’s next move.
Liquidation Wave Reaches $727 Million Amid Bitcoin and Ethereum Selloff
The most recent price drop sparked widespread losses across cryptocurrency derivatives markets, catching many leveraged traders on the wrong side of the downturn.
Data from CoinGlass indicates that 125,731 traders were liquidated within a 24-hour period, with closed positions amounting to approximately $727 million.
Bitcoin represented $293.8 million of these liquidations, with 91.1% attributable to bullish positions. Ethereum followed with $120.2 million, of which 87.7% resulted from traders betting on rising prices.
Combined, Bitcoin and Ethereum made up roughly $414 million, or 57% of the market-wide total.
Longs accounted for about 90% of Bitcoin and Ethereum liquidations
Bitcoin and Ethereum accounted for about $414 million of the roughly $727 million market total, according to a rolling 24-hour CoinGlass snapshot on Nov. 12.
CryptoSlateSelling pressure intensified over a four-hour window during which nearly $489 million in leveraged positions were liquidated. Long positions accounted for approximately $446 million of these losses, versus $44 million in short positions.
The largest single liquidation involved a $31 million Bitcoin position on the decentralized derivatives exchange Hyperliquid.
The concentration of losses among bullish traders underscores how the price decline compelled exchanges to close leveraged positions, further exacerbating selling pressure as the market failed to find footing.
This downturn unfolds amid weakening institutional demand and shrinking liquidity across the crypto market.
Data from SoSoValue reveals that U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have logged roughly $2 billion in net outflows over the last three weeks. Ethereum-focused products are also nearing a seventh straight week of withdrawals, with over $2.1 billion exiting these funds during the same timeframe.
These sustained withdrawals have coincided with a wider contraction in available crypto liquidity.
Over 30 days, the supply of major dollar-linked stablecoins shrank by $14.2 billion, while Bitcoin’s apparent demand fell by 284,000 BTC.
These developments suggest the latest liquidation wave hit a market already struggling to attract fresh capital, leaving fewer demand sources to absorb the selling pressure.
BTC Technical Breakdown Raises Risk of Deeper Decline Toward $52,700
Beyond the immediate selling pressure, Bitcoin’s deteriorating technical structure and historical valuation indicators suggest the market could incur further losses before forming a durable bottom.
The cryptocurrency has fallen below its 200-day moving average, which was hovering near $73,200, breaching a widely watched trend indicator used to assess the broader direction of prices.
The breakdown has shifted focus toward lower price levels where traders anticipate buying interest will resurface.
According to CoinGlass, Bitcoin’s liquidation heatmap points to approximately $68,000 as the next potential support zone. A decline toward that level would extend the current downturn and test whether buyers can absorb additional selling pressure.
However, historical on-chain valuation data indicates Bitcoin could face a considerably deeper correction if market conditions continue to worsen.
Joao Wedson, chief executive of blockchain analytics firm Alphractal, highlighted Bitcoin’s Cumulative Value Days Destroyed (CVDD) indicator, which currently places a historical bear-market valuation reference near $52,700.
The metric uses the value and age of Bitcoin moving on-chain to pinpoint price regions associated with previous market bottoms.
At a Bitcoin price of $72,500, the cryptocurrency was trading approximately 37.7% above the CVDD level. A full retest would imply a further decline of roughly 27% from that reference price.
Bitcoin price references after the 200-day average broke
The $72,500 comparison price puts CoinGlass’s estimated $68,000 liquidation heatmap region about 6.2% lower and Joao Wedson’s $52,700 CVDD reading about 27.3% lower.
CryptoSlateWedson noted previous market cycles where Bitcoin approached or briefly traded below the indicator.
In December 2018, Bitcoin bottomed near $3,122 against a CVDD reading of $3,060. Similarly, the November 2022 market bottom occurred around $15,479, slightly below the indicator’s $15,900 valuation.
Comparable patterns emerged during the January 2015 and March 2020 downturns, when Bitcoin traded below the metric before eventually recovering.
Still, the historical relationship does not establish that Bitcoin must revisit $52,700 during the current downturn.
Unlike a fixed technical support level, CVDD fluctuates with on-chain activity as older Bitcoin moves between wallets. Its valuation threshold can rise over time, potentially narrowing the gap between the indicator and market prices without requiring an equivalent decline in Bitcoin.
This leaves the market facing two distinct price tests: whether buyers can defend the $68,000 region identified by CoinGlass, and whether a sustained recovery can push Bitcoin back above its 200-day moving average.
A failure to stabilize around those levels would strengthen concerns that the latest selloff is evolving into a more prolonged correction, bringing the deeper historical valuation levels highlighted by Wedson into focus.