Crypto Markets See $1 Billion in Leveraged Liquidations

According to Coinglass data, the crypto market saw a surge of $1 billion in leveraged liquidations as Bitcoin plummeted below $96,000 on Thursday. The majority of losses, about $878 million, came from long positions, while short positions accounted for $160 million.

Despite recovering to over $97,000 at press time, Bitcoin is still shy of its daily high of $102,000, as reported by CoinGecko. The cryptocurrency sell-off also affected other assets, with the total market cap dropping 9.5% to $3.4 trillion.

Ethereum saw an 8% decrease, Ripple lost 5%, and Solana and Dogecoin suffered even steeper double-digit declines in the past 24 hours. Smaller-cap assets were hit particularly hard, with only Movement (MOVE) managing to reduce its losses.

This market turmoil is likely a response to the Fed’s surprisingly hawkish statements following their decision to lower interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday. The Fed’s announcement also hinted at less frequent rate cuts in 2025.