The crypto market crash began in the early Asian hours on Friday, with Bitcoin (BTC) price slipping below $105K. The global crypto market cap also tumbled nearly 3%, from $3.45 trillion to $3.30 trillion; that’s $150 billion erased from the crypto market in just under 24 hours.
Top altcoins, including Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and SUI, tumbled 3-6%. Meme coins suffered the most, with both Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) falling nearly 11% in the last 24 hours.
Moreover, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index has dropped from 74 to 60 today, indicating a shift to slight bearish sentiment among investors.
Here’s Why the Crypto Market Is Crashing Today
$750 Million in Crypto Liquidations
Crypto liquidations crossed $750 million in the last 24 hours, with $380 million liquidated within just 4 hours, as per Coinglass data. Over 196K traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours, with the largest single liquidation order of BTCUSDT valued at $12.74 million on crypto exchange OKX.
Notably, $660 million in longs and $90 million in shorts were liquidated in the last 24 hours. BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, DOGE, and SUI saw massive liquidations, triggering a broader crypto market crash today.
$11.6 Billion Bitcoin and Ethereum Options Expiry
The primary reason behind the crypto market crash is $11.6 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum monthly options expiring on Deribit today. Traders were anticipating a price pullback due to market uncertainty and in preparation for significant upcoming events.
As per Deribit data, 93K BTC options with a notional value of almost $10 billion are set to expire on Friday, with a put-call ratio of 0.88. The maximum loss point stands at $100,000, suggesting that traders still have potential to cause further declines in the BTC price.
Moreover, 624K ETH options with a notional value of over $1.62 billion are set to expire, with a put-call ratio of 0.81. Furthermore, the max pain point is $2,300, which is higher than the current price of $2,630.
According to Greeks.live, ETH is witnessing an upward shock to slow down, and the market has recalibrated the price and volatility, which has risen slightly overall. It added that deliveries are less than 8% of total positions and are declining, with crypto institutions not showing much reaction to new highs. The expectation for a near-term surge is low, and the crypto may see a steady, moderate rise.
US PCE Inflation Data Release
Meanwhile, the traders also assessed the US PCE inflation data release due today. The annual PCE is expected at 2.2%, down from 2.3% last month. Furthermore, the month-over-month inflation is expected to rise 0.1%.
Whereas, the annual core US PCE inflation is expected to fall to 2.2%. The monthly core PCE is expected to rise 0.1%, up from 0% last month.
At the time of writing, the Bitcoin (BTC) price was trading at $106,146, and the Ethereum (ETH) cost was changing hands at $2,638. The market witnessed a slight rebound due to factors including buy-the-dip by investors and the US SEC’s decision to end a long-running lawsuit against Binance.
Spot Bitcoin ETF Outflow
According to Farside Investors, the spot Bitcoin ETF recorded a net outflow of $346.8 million yesterday, the first outflow in nearly 10 trading days.
Among them, BlackRock’s IBIT spot Bitcoin ETF saw a net inflow of $125.1 million. In contrast, Fidelity’s FBTC had a net outflow of $166.3 million, Grayscale’s GBTC had a net outflow of $107.5 million, and ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF saw a net outflow of $89.2 million.
