Crypto markets fell sharply on Wednesday, causing consternation among investors. Wider selling in the crypto market caused the global market value to fall 2.50% to $1.94 trillion. Bitcoin and Ethereum prices slipped below $51,000 and $2,900, respectively, with investors reducing holdings.
The price of Bitcoin declined 2% in a few hours from $52,000 to $50,700, making the 24-hour decline almost 3%. Major altcoins such as ETH, SOL, XRP, ADA, and others also saw a pullback of more than 5% in the last few hours.
The crypto market saw $300 million in liquidity in 24 hours, with $60 million liquidated in the last few hours. Coinglass data shows long positions worth more than $217 million were liquidated today, February 21. More than 103,000 traders liquidated their holdings within 24 hours, with the largest order on Binance's BTCUSDT worth $9.70 million. This caused a drop in the price of BTC, prompting a price drop in the market.
Open interest (OI) of Bitcoin futures contracts on CME and Binance fell more than 3% and 4% in the 24-hour period, coinciding with weak spot Bitcoin ETF inflows and sell signals. Based on the data, open interest (OI) of Bitcoin futures contracts on the CME fell to $6.62 billion, after another 1% decline in the last 4 hours.
The FOMC minutes are scheduled to be released early tomorrow morning, with Fed policymakers becoming more wary of rate cuts and expecting the first rate cut in the second half of the year. PCE inflation measurements and jobless claims data favored by the Fed are key events that traders monitor.
