Bitcoin tumbles as $1.18 billion in crypto liquidations hit markets

Bitcoin has continued to decline over the past week, reaching its lowest level since July due to escalating US–China trade tensions and significant fund outflows that triggered a wave of liquidations in the crypto markets.

According to data from CryptoSlate, Bitcoin dropped more than 5% in the last 24 hours, hitting a low of $103,300 after hovering around $112,000 earlier in the week. Ethereum also saw a decline, falling 9% to approximately $3,600.

Additionally, Binance’s BNB declined by 11% to $1,048, while XRP, Solana, Dogecoin, Tron, and Cardano all experienced losses of over 7% during the same period.

Data from Coinglass indicated that the sell-off led to around $1.18 billion in leveraged liquidations within the past 24 hours. Notably, long traders who were betting on a market recovery suffered the most losses, totaling about $917 million.

This recent performance follows a significant crash in the crypto market the previous week, which shook investor confidence. On Oct. 10, crypto investors lost nearly $20 billion after President Donald Trump threatened a 100% tariff on China.

Factors Behind Bitcoin’s Recent Price Decline

The sharp downturn in the market can be attributed to a combination of macroeconomic and structural factors affecting the crypto industry.

Analysts at Bitfinex informed CryptoSlate that markets have become increasingly sensitive to geopolitical developments. They highlighted that President Trump’s announcement of new tariffs heightened concerns about economic decoupling.

According to them:

“In the short term, we anticipate periods of sudden volatility, with any selling pressure in equities spilling over into crypto, tightening liquidity and impacting leveraged positions. If yield curves steepen and credit risk premiums widen, BTC may face some profit-taking before resuming an upward trajectory.”

Furthermore, institutional investors are showing signs of waning sentiment, with spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experiencing combined outflows of approximately $600 million.

Per SoSo Value data, US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw outflows of $536 million on Oct. 16, marking the most significant single-day withdrawal since August.

Ark Invest’s ARKB led the outflows with $275.15 million, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC with $132 million withdrawn. Additionally, Grayscale’s GBTC and Grayscale Mini BTC products reported outflows of $44.97 million and $22.52 million, respectively, while BlackRock’s IBIT saw an outflow of $29.37 million.

Other funds also experienced minor declines, with Bitwise’s BITB seeing $20.58 million in outflows and VanEck’s HODL recording $6.12 million in outflows.

On the other hand, Invesco’s BTCO, Franklin Templeton’s EZBC, Valkyrie’s BRRR, and WisdomTree’s BTCW reported no net flows during the period.

In light of this, Timothy Misir, head of research at BRN, warned CryptoSlate that the shift in ETF demand has transformed “a temporary pause into a structural headwind.”

He cautioned that if total redemptions surpass $1 billion within 48 hours, or if miner sales resume, Bitcoin could test the $96,000 level before stabilizing.