Bitcoin (BTC) Drops 5% as the Crypto Market Turns Red; 171k Traders Liquidated

Bitcoin (BTC) has dropped 5% over the past day, with most of the crypto market in the red. While the largest crypto by market cap had the biggest drop in dollar terms

Bitcoin dropped 5% on Friday, leading the broader crypto market lower, as a majority of the top ten cryptocurrencies suffered losses.

While BTC experienced the largest drop in dollar terms – falling from US$102,425 (AU$164,231) to US$97,049 (AU$155,613) – others in the top ten suffered larger percentage losses.

Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 7.5%, XRP lost 4.3%, dropping a rank in market cap, and Solana lost 7.2%.

BTC, ETH, SOL and DOGE Suffer Largest Liquidations

The mini-crash saw 171k traders liquidated, to the tune of US$542.1 million (AU$869.1 million) in total liquidation volume, as per data from Coinglass. Notably, a larger portion of the total liquidations was attributed to Ethereum, compared to Bitcoin.

Ether experienced forced sells of US$117 million (AU$188 million) whereas only US$99 million (AU$159 million) of Bitcoin was liquidated. Solana and Dogecoin also suffered large liquidations, at US$24 million (AU$38.6 million) and US$23 million (AU$37 million) respectively.

Data from the United States seems to be driving the sell-off, as is often the case.

Job openings unexpectedly increased in November, while service sector activity strengthened in December, contributing to an edgier bond market as expectations ease for further rate cuts.

Of course, this is not entirely surprising, as 10X Research predicted volatility ahead of the upcoming CPI print on January 15.

Retest May Be Volatile, Analyst Says

So, is this a good opportunity to buy the dip? According to crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe, it is – if you’ve done your research.

The analyst believes that as the crypto market matures, corrections present valuable opportunities for investors. And while dips are to be expected in bull markets, it’s key to manage one’s emotions.

Fellow analyst RektCapital noted on X (formerly Twitter) that the current retest phase “may be a volatile one,” adding:

#BTC This is the Daily Close Bitcoin needed for bullish biasA dip into the black $101,165 level would constitute a retest attempt to fully confirm a breakout from the range$BTC #Crypto #Bitcoin https://t.co/ZGETUakVQb pic.twitter.com/jdKcoLpniG

At the time of writing, BTC has dropped a further 1.3%, trading at US$95,800 (AU$153,380). However, the world’s largest cryptocurrency is still up 36% over the past 30 days.