As the crypto market continues to struggle, bitcoin (BTC) has broken into a new volatile range. On March 10, the cryptocurrency fell below $80,000 and touched the $76,800 range before climbing back up to $81,000 at the time of writing.
According to the latest edition of the Bitfinex Alpha report, the cryptocurrency’s decline to $76,800 triggered massive losses in the market, with investors recording over $950 million in liquidations for both short and long positions.
Bitcoin in New Volatile Range
Bitfinex said its analysts expected a temporary upside move toward the previous range lows near $90,000 after BTC fell briefly below $80,000 in February. The expectations played out earlier last week, with the leading cryptocurrency reclaiming those levels before consolidating between $85,000 and $92,000 towards the weekend.
However, bitcoin’s volatility increased as the Crypto Summit at the White House approached. Bitfinex said this was fueled by speculation around the creation of a U.S. Strategic Crypto Reserve. By the way, around that time, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the bitcoin reserve and a digital asset stockpile.
When news emerged on March 7, crypto prices rallied across the market. However, the gains were soon erased as investors understood that the order would not result in any immediate new buying of BTC or other cryptocurrencies. This, in addition to one of the largest Bitcoin and Ethereum options expiry event on the same day (up to $3 billion), triggered more short-term fluctuations, leaving investors in losses.
Market Stabilization on the Horizon?
Regardless of bitcoin’s negative price action, the leading cryptocurrency has been stable relative to altcoins. But market sentiment about the coin remains cautious, and liquidity conditions and macroeconomic uncertainty are playing key roles in the asset’s next move.
“The intense whipsaw in price action over the past two weeks has created turbulent market conditions and driven a surge in realized volatility for Bitcoin, particularly across shorter time frames,” the report stated.
On the other hand, the Bitcoin options market has reached some of the highest levels of realized volatility in this cycle, surpassing 80% for its one-week and two-week timeframes. This level of realized losses shows that many traders and short-term holders have been forced to exit their positions below their cost basis. This means they have sold their assets at a loss.
However, Bitfinex said such mass capitulation events often precede a phase of market stabilization because strong hands start accumulating as weak hands leave the market.
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