Bitcoin’s value experienced a significant drop amidst a tumultuous day in the cryptocurrency market, leading to over $661 million in crypto liquidations and affecting nearly 200,000 traders.
The sharp decline saw Bitcoin‘s price fall by 7.5% from $72,000 to $66,500 within just a few hours of trading on March 15.
Despite a brief recovery to the $68,000 mark, the cryptocurrency faced resistance and dropped to approximately $67,500, marking an 8.3% decrease from its March 14 peak of $73,737.
The bulk of the liquidations, which accounted for 80% or $525.2 million, were long positions, while short-position liquidations amounted to $136.5 million.
This sell-off contributed to a 7.3% reduction in the overall crypto market capitalization, which fell to $2.68 trillion as around $175 billion left the market.
Greeks Live, a crypto derivatives tool provider, commented on a “recent change in market tempo” on March 14, indicating a potential shift in the trend of Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) inflows.
Pav Hundal, a lead analyst at Swyftx, expressed concerns to Cointelegraph about the potential for a correction into the low $60,000 or high $50,000 range if ETF volumes continue to diminish.
He highlighted worries over hot inflation data and a notable 48% drop in Bitcoin ETF inflow volumes from their 14-day average, which could signify a significant market correction.
On March 14, Bitcoin ETF inflows reached a monthly low of just $133 million, according to Farside Investors.
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Crypto trader and analyst CrediBULL Crypto, addressing his 380,000 followers on X, suggested that the recent market downturn was anticipated and could lead Bitcoin to drop further to between $63,000 and $64,000.
He noted that the dip had erased most of the accumulated open interest in derivatives markets.
The downturn was seemingly hastened by the release of U.S. economic data, including above-expected Producer Price Index (PPI) figures, indicating potential for sustained high rates by the Federal Reserve.
Additionally, higher-than-anticipated Consumer Price Index (CPI) data compounded concerns about the U.S. economy’s challenges.
Following this data, Asian stock markets also saw declines, dampening hopes for imminent lower interest rates.
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