Bitcoin below $72,000: 656 million liquidations in 24 hours

The bulls surrender. On Thursday, November 12, bitcoin broke $72,000, after exceeding $76,000 at the start of the week. This shock hits a weakened market, where 14 billion stablecoins have evaporated. In 24 hours, more than $656 million in positions were blown, and the bulk were in upside bets.

The key points of this article:

Bitcoin broke the $72,000 mark on Thursday November 12 on Bitstamp.

Coinglass records $656 million in liquidations in 24 hours, the vast majority on the bullish side.

More than 122,000 traders saw a position automatically closed during the cascade.

The largest liquidation involves a $31 million long position in Hyperliquid.

A dark afternoon for the bulls

The fall was rapid, and bullish bettors paid a high price for it. WatcherGuru relayed $125 million in longs liquidated in twenty minutes, while bitcoin fell below $72,000.

A long position is a bet on the upside, amplified by leverage. When the losses exceed the stake, the exchange automatically closes the position: this is liquidation.

For example, a leverage of 10 multiplies both gains and losses, to the point that a 10% drop in the price wipes out the entire stake. The forced sale that follows pushes the price lower, and the cascade feeds itself.

On the counter, Coinglass recorded $656 million in liquidations, figures reported by Bitcoin.com News.

Long positions represent 555 million, compared to just over 100 million for shorts, who are betting on the decline.

The day cost more than 122,000 traders their positions.

Bitcoin tops the bill with $237 million in liquidations, far ahead of ether and Solana.

The worst happened in a few minutes, around 2 p.m. 226.5 million dollars then disappeared, the vast majority on bullish bets.

Binance alone accounts for 37% of liquidation activity.

The biggest liquidation of the day was a $31 million long bitcoin position on Hyperliquid.

On Bitstamp, bitcoin was trading at around $71,888 after the shock, at the end of a week of hourly candles at ever lower peaks and troughs. The decline accelerated on rising volumes, a sign of forced sales rather than an orderly retreat.

Why is the market doing so badly?

On the trigger side, nothing is decided, but withdrawals from American bitcoin ETFs weigh heavily, with 1.44 billion dollars withdrawn in five days.

US inflation in October, judged to be more solid than expected, fuels bets on a tightening by the Fed, while the weakness of technology stocks is also cited.

Nvidia is providing its shake-up, while its boss Jensen Huang has reportedly announced his departure three days after being targeted by an investigation. Technology stocks were already dragging bitcoin down on Tuesday, November 11.

Pressure also comes from within, with Strategy leaving the MSCI indices on November 30. The supply of stablecoins is contracting, and American buying appetite is weakening, according to Coinbase premium indicators.

Technically, resuming the zone of 75,600 to 75,700 dollars would give some air to the chart. There is no guarantee that buyers will return.