Why Is Crypto Crashing Today? Bitcoin Down 24.5%, $1.6 Billion Liquidated

Bitcoin fell to about US$65,400 (roughly RM267,000) at 1am Malaysia time on Sunday, its lowest since 19 August and 24.5% below its 21 September close of US$86,603. Ether, Solana and XRP fell harder over the past day. The crypto Fear & Greed Index read 13, “extreme fear”. Here is why it is happening, and what the liquidation data shows.

Why is crypto crashing today?

• US interest rates may go up, not down. US consumer prices rose 0.4% in October against 0.3% expected, and traders now fully price a quarter-point Federal Reserve hike at the 8 to 9 December meeting (CNBC). The 10-year Treasury yield went back to 5% (CNBC). Bitcoin pays no interest, so it now competes with a 5% government bond.
• Money is leaving the Bitcoin ETFs. US spot Bitcoin funds lost a net US$1.28 billion in the week of 2 to 6 November, by Farside Investors’ count (99Bitcoins on Yahoo Finance), and BlackRock’s fund saw outflows for nine sessions in a row to 11 November (CryptoTicker). When investors redeem, the funds sell Bitcoin.
• The Nvidia shock hit risk appetite. Jensen Huang resigned as Nvidia’s chief executive on 12 November, and Nvidia lost more than US$740 billion in market value in a week (CNBC). Bitcoin.com named the fallout among the things that rattled crypto (Bitcoin.com).
• Borrowed money made each drop bigger. Traders who bet on a rise with leverage were forced out as prices fell, and their forced selling pushed prices lower again. That is the liquidation data below.

Crypto liquidation data

A liquidation is a forced sale. A trader who borrows to bet on a price puts down a deposit, called margin; when losses eat most of it, the exchange closes the position. At 10 times leverage, a fall of about 10% is enough to wipe out the deposit.

• 9 November: US$1.04 billion of long bets were liquidated in 24 hours as Bitcoin briefly fell below US$74,000, CoinGlass data showed (The Block).
• 12 to 13 November: US$1.62 billion in 24 hours, of which US$1.46 billion were longs; Bitcoin longs alone passed US$901 million (Bitcoin.com, CoinGlass data).
• The biggest single hit: a Bitcoin long worth more than US$31 million, closed on the Hyperliquid exchange, according to CoinDesk’s reading of CoinGlass data (CryptoTicker). We explained what Hyperliquid is after the June crash.
• 1am, 15 November: CoinGlass’s 24-hour table showed US$345 million of Bitcoin longs liquidated against US$28 million of shorts (CoinGlass).

How far has Bitcoin fallen?

What it means for Malaysians

• In ringgit, one Bitcoin was about RM266,000 at 1am on 15 November (CoinGecko). Live prices are on our crypto page.
• If you simply own coins, you cannot be liquidated: the value falls, but nobody sells for you. Liquidations hit people trading with borrowed money.
• Check where you trade. The Securities Commission publishes the list of registered digital asset exchanges in Malaysia.

• Mon 16 NovUS Bitcoin ETF flows for the new week, after a run of outflows.
• Coming weeksNvidia’s search for a permanent chief executive; the CFO, Colette Kress, is interim CEO (CNBC).
• 8 to 9 DecThe Federal Reserve’s rate decision.

Sources

• CNBC: Consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, more than expected
• CNBC: 10-year Treasury yield races back to 5%
• CNBC: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns, live updates
• 99Bitcoins on Yahoo Finance: BTC breaks below 50-week average after $1.28B ETF outflows
• CryptoTicker: Bitcoin down 6%, over $1.3 billion liquidated (13 Nov)
• Bitcoin.com: Bitcoin price crashes below $68K as crypto liquidations hit $1.6B
• The Block: Bitcoin loses 50-week moving average as long liquidations top $1 billion
• CoinGlass: liquidation data
• Yahoo Finance: BTC-USD price history
• CoinGecko: Bitcoin price in ringgit
• Alternative.me: Crypto Fear & Greed Index
• Securities Commission Malaysia: registered persons, digital assets