Key Takeaways
- • Bitcoin fell below $70,000 early Friday to its lowest level since Aug. 19, with CoinDesk data showing a low near $69,000, and has dropped 17% in the current quarter, according to CoinDesk.
- • Exchanges liquidated more than $1.3 billion in crypto futures positions over 24 hours, per Coinglass, with bitcoin accounting for $677 million and nearly $500 million occurring as BTC crossed below $70,000.
- • Ether dropped below $2,000 for the first time since August, while XRP traded near $1 and Solana below $80, with several smaller tokens down 7% or more.
- • The Dollar Index traded above 103, its highest level since April 2025, as odds of a half-point Federal Reserve rate hike in December rose after a hotter-than-expected October CPI reading.
- • Renewed Middle East escalation, including Iran's IRGC claim that it destroyed a U.S. early-warning radar in Bahrain, added to risk-off pressure, while WTI traded around $88.
Summary
Bitcoin's sell-off gathered pace early Friday as it dropped below $70,000 to its lowest level since Aug. 19, according to CoinDesk data. The leading cryptocurrency has fallen 17% in the current quarter, reversing a major part of the rally seen in the preceding three months. The broader market followed, with ether falling below $2,000 for the first time since August, XRP trading close to $1, and Solana trading below $80. Several smaller tokens, including GT, Stacks and XMR, were down 7% or more.
The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against major fiat currencies, traded above 103, its highest level since April 2025 and up nearly 2% since early October. CoinDesk reported that the move reflected strengthening odds of Federal Reserve rate hikes, a headwind for liquidity-sensitive risk assets. The odds of a half-percentage-point hike in December increased after a hotter-than-expected U.S. consumer price index reading for October released earlier in the week.
Geopolitical developments also weighed on sentiment. Media reports indicated renewed military escalation in the Middle East, with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) saying it destroyed a U.S. early-warning radar in Bahrain in response to an air attack on a telecoms tower in Sirik. The IRGC, in remarks carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, described the strike as a "serious warning" and demanded an end to what it called repeated aerial provocations and oil smuggling in the Strait of Hormuz. WTI crude traded around $88, slightly below Thursday's high of $89.15.
Leverage unwinds amplified the decline. Coinglass data showed exchanges liquidated more than $1.3 billion in crypto futures positions over 24 hours, with bitcoin accounting for $677 million. Nearly $500 million was liquidated as BTC fell below $70,000. Liquidations occur when exchanges forcibly close leveraged positions after losses deplete a trader's margin, and the drop likely pushed several long positions below required collateral levels. The largest single liquidated position was worth more than $31 million, a long BTC position on the decentralized trading platform Hyperliquid.
The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against major fiat currencies, traded above 103, its highest level since April 2025 and up nearly 2% since early October. CoinDesk reported that the move reflected strengthening odds of Federal Reserve rate hikes, a headwind for liquidity-sensitive risk assets. The odds of a half-percentage-point hike in December increased after a hotter-than-expected U.S. consumer price index reading for October released earlier in the week.
Geopolitical developments also weighed on sentiment. Media reports indicated renewed military escalation in the Middle East, with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) saying it destroyed a U.S. early-warning radar in Bahrain in response to an air attack on a telecoms tower in Sirik. The IRGC, in remarks carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, described the strike as a "serious warning" and demanded an end to what it called repeated aerial provocations and oil smuggling in the Strait of Hormuz. WTI crude traded around $88, slightly below Thursday's high of $89.15.
Leverage unwinds amplified the decline. Coinglass data showed exchanges liquidated more than $1.3 billion in crypto futures positions over 24 hours, with bitcoin accounting for $677 million. Nearly $500 million was liquidated as BTC fell below $70,000. Liquidations occur when exchanges forcibly close leveraged positions after losses deplete a trader's margin, and the drop likely pushed several long positions below required collateral levels. The largest single liquidated position was worth more than $31 million, a long BTC position on the decentralized trading platform Hyperliquid.
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