Crypto Market Slides as Stocks Get Hammered, Bitcoin Falls Below Key Support

cryptonews.com:

The crypto market continued lower over the past 24 hours following a selloff led by technology stocks in the US on Thursday. The falling prices were accompanied by liquidations across the crypto market, with one analyst saying the leverage flush-out could potentially set the market up for a “relief rally.”

At 13:50 UTC, bitcoin (BTC) traded at USD 38,593, down by almost 9% over the past 24 hours and for the week. The current price means that the number one cryptocurrency now has broken below a key psychological support level at USD 40,000, while also falling below a recent low from January 10 of USD 39,650.

BTC price last 14 days:

Meanwhile, ethereum (ETH) traded at USD 2,811, down almost 12% for the past 24 hours and 14% for the past 7 days. The second-most valuable crypto thus saw even heavier selling than bitcoin, as traders exited high-risk positions with higher perceived risk.

ETH price last 14 days:

“Bitcoin’s continued selloff is driving speculators out the market. However, with leverage quick to build up around this asset, the market could be setting itself up for a short squeeze and relief rally,” Ben Caselin, Head of Research and Strategy at crypto exchange AAX, told Cryptonews.com.

He added that the selloff is likely “not too concerning” for long-term holders, although it could turn away some newcomers to the space. In particular, this is the case for “those who are trading meme coins and other hype-based tokens,” the analyst said.

In the 12 hours between midnight and 12:00 UTC today, nearly USD 388m of long positions were liquidated across the crypto futures market, with USD 182m of those coming from bitcoin alone, data from Coinglass showed.

Liquidations of leveraged BTC futures positions per 12 hours:

For ETH