Bitcoin (BTC) stayed lower on Friday after overnight volatility sent the largest cryptocurrency to a low of six months.
Hourly candlestick chart BTC / USD (bit stamp). Source: Trading View
The optimism of $ 40,000 subsides
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed that BTC / USD reversed to $ 38,250 after losing over $ 4,000 in a few hours.
Traders, who had $ 39,000 at the time of writing, were confused by an unexpected fall that came just as BTC reached several-day highs above $ 43,000.
Thus, the closure of the trading platforms was predictably large. For Bitcoin and altcoins combined, the 24-hour position distribution is $ 725 million, while BTC positions are $ 292 million.
The vast majority of losses were in long positions, indicating that the area around $ 40,000 has created significant credibility as a strong guideline.
Cryptocurrency filter chart. Source: Coinglass
As Cointelegraph reported, options expiration on Friday, including open interest rates of nearly $ 600 million, was seen as the main driver of volatility. In contrast, external triggers, such as Russia’s proposed total ban on cryptocurrency trading and mining, appear to have little effect.
“$ 42.4K- $ 42.7K could not continue to hold bitcoin, so it was a nuclear trend to the other side of the region and most likely a continuation of more downward momentum and a lower bottom,” explained Cointelegraph contributor Michael van de Poppe . . .
The move was long overdue as more conservative analysts predicted returns closer to $ 30,000 or even less during January.
Ether returns to a solid foothold
Meanwhile, altcoins have suffered noticeably more from the fall of bitcoin.
Among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market value, a fall of 10% was common and the decline was limited, with only Terra (LUNA) able to limit losses below 5%.
Related: Overcoming Bitcoin Demand “Bear Market” Will Lead to Next BTC Price Rally – Analysts
Ether (ETH) fell to a critical support level close to $ 2,800, the highest record since April last year, to limit weekly losses to close to 15%.
