Bitcoin Crashes Below $53,000, $740M in Leveraged Positions Wiped Out

Bitcoin Drops Below $53,000, $740 Million Leveraged Positions Wiped Out

Bitcoin experienced a dramatic drop on Aug. 5, falling 10% from $58,350 to $52,500 in less than two hours. Bitcoin (BTC) has since recovered slightly and is trading at $53,440 qt at press time, according to CoinMarketCap data.

This sudden crash marks the first time Bitcoin has fallen below $53,000 since Feb. 26, earlier this year. The previous decline occurred before a rally that followed the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S.

This sharp decline has led to significant liquidations across the cryptocurrency market, with data from CoinGlass revealing that over $740 million worth of leveraged positions have been wiped out in the past 24 hours, with leveraged long positions accounting for just over $644 million of that total.

Over $256 million worth of ETH long positions were liquidated, while $231 million worth of long positions in Bitcoin were forcibly closed. This can be attributed to the significant increase in open interest for ETH in recent months, as investors sought exposure to the asset both before and after the approval of spot Ether ETFs in the US.