Wild Bitcoin, Ether Price Swings Amid Spot ETH ETF Decision Triggers $350M Liquidations

Crypto prices fluctuated sharply on Thursday as investors anxiously awaited the US regulatory decision to list spot-based ether exchange-traded funds.

Read more: Ether ETFs Clear Major Hurdles Although SEC Has Not Yet Approved For Trading

In the frustrating hour leading up to final approval, ETH first fell to $3,500 around the US customary market close, then rose to around $3,900 following approval as initial unconfirmed reports eventually settled above $3,800.

Bitcoin {{BTC}} went through a similarly active period, dropping to $66,000, then rising to $68,300 before its gains fell below $68,000. However, ETH has shown a stronger performance, rising 1.5% in the last 24 hours compared to BTC’s decline of almost 3% in the same period. The broad market CoinDesk 20 Index was down 1.6% on the day.

According to CoinGlass data, liquidations on all leveraged crypto derivative positions during the volatile period reached over $350 million intraday, the highest level since May 1.

Ether (ETH) price on May 23 (CoinDesk)

Liquidations occur when an exchange closes out a leveraged trading position due to partial or total loss of the investor’s initial money or “margin”; If the investor cannot meet the margin requirements or does not have sufficient funds to keep the transaction open.

The lion’s share of deleted positions were long positions on rising prices, worth approximately $250 million; This suggests that overleveraged traders were caught off guard by the sudden price drop. While ETH investors took the biggest hit with $132 million in liquidations, this was followed by $70 million in BTC derivative liquidations.