Over the last 24 hours, liquidations in the cryptocurrency space have neared the $700 million mark amid a crash that has seen the price of the flagship cryptocurrency bitcoin briefly drop below the $80,000 mark.
Data from CoinGlass shows that $697 million worth of derivatives positions were liquidated over the last 24 hours, with $519 million of those being long positions and $178 million being short positions. The period saw the total market capitalization of the space plunge by around $150 billion.
The drop comes amid a wider market plunge that has seen the space erase around $500 billion in total value since the sell-off started, based on data from CoinMarketCap. The plunge saw the Crypto Fear and Greed Index plunge to 20, in “extreme fear” territory.
- Crypto market crash chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at just $80,700 after losing around 11% of its value over the last week, while Ethereum is at $2,033 after losing 11.3% of its value. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap briefly plunged below $2,000 before recovering.
Other top cryptocurrencies, including Binance’s BNB, XRP, SOL, DOGE, and Cardano’s ADA, are down between 6% and 26% over the past seven days as traders flock for the exit.
Crypto Market Crash Related to Japanese Government Bond Yields Rising
The cryptocurrency market crash has been linked by analysts to disappointment surrounding the U.S. Strategic Crypto Reserve that was announced, as it will consist solely of assets the government has already seized, with no further purchases being planned.
On top of that, Japan’s 20-year government bond yields have risen to their highest level since 2008, leading investors away from risk assets, including bitcoin and general cryptocurrencies, as the Bank of Japan could raise interest rates in the near future.
Raising interest rates leads to a higher yen, which reduces the appeal of carry trades that see investors borrow in the currency to invest in risk assets that can lead to higher yields, including Bitcoin.
