Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) remained under pressure on Monday, hovering near its weakest levels since April after a steep weekend selloff dragged prices toward the mid-$70,000 range. A surge in forced liquidations and growing uncertainty around global monetary policy continued to weigh on investor confidence.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency was last down 2.2% at $76,825.4 by 03:06 ET (08:06 GMT), after briefly sliding to $74,635.5 — territory not seen in nearly ten months.
With selling momentum still intact, Bitcoin is edging closer to a potential 15-month low around the $70,000 mark.
Weekend rout triggers wave of crypto liquidations
The pullback spilled across the broader digital-asset space. Roughly $111 billion was erased from total cryptocurrency market value over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko, highlighting the severity of the downturn.
Data from Coinglass showed that about $1.6 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated, as falling prices forced traders to unwind bullish exposure at speed.
Thin weekend liquidity magnified the decline. As Bitcoin broke through key technical levels, stop-loss orders and margin calls cascaded through the market, reinforcing volatility across major cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin’s decline has also coincided with a broader shift toward risk aversion in global markets, driven by renewed focus on U.S. monetary policy.
Warsh nomination fuels Fed-related concerns
U.S. President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Federal Reserve has prompted investors to reassess assumptions about future interest rates and liquidity conditions.
Warsh, a former Fed governor, is widely viewed as relatively hawkish, particularly with respect to inflation control and balance-sheet discipline.
That stance suggests tighter financial conditions than markets had previously anticipated, dampening demand for speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies, which typically benefit from abundant liquidity and low borrowing costs.
“Warsh’s past criticism of QE and the Fed’s use of its balance sheet to enhance monetary policy transmission triggered an immediate unwind in trades that had benefitted from currency debasement concerns, including bitcoin and other crypto tokens,” said David Scutt, market analyst at StoneX Group.
Bitcoin has now retreated sharply from record highs reached last year, giving back a substantial share of gains driven by optimism over institutional adoption and easier financial conditions.
Altcoins slide further; Ether near multi-month lows
Losses extended across the broader crypto market on Monday, adding to sharp declines recorded over the weekend.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, dropped 6.6% to $2,290.92, trading near seven-month lows touched in the previous session.
XRP, the third-largest token, slipped 4.4% to $1.59.
Solana fell a further 3%, while Cardano and Polygon each declined about 1.5%.
Among meme-linked tokens, Dogecoin and $TRUMP also edged lower.
Leave a Reply