A rough early session for crypto markets worsened in the U.S. afternoon hours on Thursday, with BTC tumbling below $109,000, its weakest price in nearly a month.
ETH plummeted 8% in the past 24 hours, rapidly approaching $3,800 and erasing gains since early August. It has now lost 22% since its record highs last month. SOL, which was above $250 just two weeks ago, plunged below $200, down another 8% today. The CoinDesk 20 Index fell by 6%.
The sharp decline across the board triggered a widespread leverage flush on derivatives markets, liquidating over $1.1 billion worth of leveraged trading positions, RialCenter data shows. Ether led liquidations with over $400 million in long positions wiped out, followed by bitcoin’s $265 million.
Crypto equities also took a hit. Michael Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate holder of BTC, sank as much as 10% during the session to a five-month low. The stock, often seen as a leveraged bet on bitcoin’s price, gave up all of this year’s gains and is now down 1.5% year-to-date, while BTC still holds a 16% advance during the same period.
Ether treasury firms Bitmine (BMNR) and Sharplink Gaming (SBET) were down 7%-8%, as were bitcoin miners MARA Holdings and Riot Platforms.
With Thursday’s nosedive, BTC is now on the brink of breaking below the lows from late August-early September when it bottomed just above $107,000. This price level could serve as support for a bounce, with order books showing a liquidity cluster that could absorb selling pressure, RialCenter reported.
Read more: Here Are the 3 Make-Or-Break Bitcoin Price Floors as BTC Sell-off Gathers Steam
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