Despite market volatility, the year saw groundbreaking milestones, including Bitcoin reaching $108,000 for the first time and the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
As 2024 draws to a close, over 108,000 crypto traders faced liquidations amounting to $280 million, highlighting the market’s unrelenting volatility.
The final days of 2024 saw Bitcoin BTC $84 513 24h volatility: 0.6% Market cap: $1.68 T Vol. 24h: $9.23 B experience sharp fluctuations after its remarkable ascent to $108,000 earlier in December. While the flagship crypto asset demonstrated resilience following two years of market turbulence caused by the collapse of FTX in 2023 and Terra Luna’s implosion in 2022, it remains a volatile asset class.
Crypto traders using high leverage bore the brunt of recent price swings, as sudden corrections triggered widespread liquidations across major exchanges.
Bitcoin Leads Liquidation Frenzy with $78M Losses
According to data from CoinGlass, Bitcoin alone accounted for $78.37 million of the total liquidations, with long traders suffering the majority of losses during the market decline. While short traders faced a comparatively modest loss of $26 million, long traders recorded over $52 million in losses within the past 24 hours.
Beyond Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum ETH $1 588 24h volatility: 0.1% Market cap: $191.67 B Vol. 24h: $5.14 B and Solana SOL $134.3 24h volatility: 0.6% Market cap: $69.39 B Vol. 24h: $2.40 B also faced significant liquidations. Ethereum saw over $38 million in leveraged positions forcefully closed, while Solana accounted for approximately $13 million.
Altcoins collectively contributed roughly $55 million to the overall liquidations, underscoring the broad market impact.
These liquidations predominantly occurred on centralized exchanges, with Binance, OKX, and Bybit leading the pack. Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, accounted for nearly 43% of the $280 million liquidated, according to CoinGlass data.
Despite Binance’s dominance in the liquidation tally, the single largest liquidation order was recorded on OKX, where a trader lost $2.58 million in one transaction.
A Landmark Year for Crypto
As the crypto market remains highly volatile, traders continue to engage in leveraged positions, hoping to capitalize on price movements.
However, not all are fortunate. In the past hour alone, nearly $2 million was wiped out from leveraged positions. Four hours ago, the futures market saw close to $20 million liquidated, highlighting the relentless risks associated with high-leverage trading.
Despite these losses, 2024 will be remembered as a transformative year for the crypto industry. The approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States and Hong Kong marked a new era of mainstream adoption.
These ETFs provided institutional and retail investors with a regulated pathway to invest in Bitcoin, fueling optimism and driving market participation.
Bitcoin’s performance this year mirrored these advancements. After starting the year below $40,000, the king coin surged to an all-time high of $108,000 in December, supported by growing institutional interest and corporate adoption. Several major companies embraced Bitcoin as a reserve asset, citing its potential as a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty.
Ethereum also had a strong year, buoyed by the launch of Ethereum-based ETFs and the continued adoption of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. The network’s ecosystem flourished, with innovations in scalability and sustainability gaining traction among developers and investors alike.
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