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The Bitcoin price has now halved since October. What’s going on?

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The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price is under heavy selling pressure again today.

And volatility is spiking to levels that certainly aren’t for the faint-hearted.

Over the past 24 hours, the world’s first and biggest crypto by market valuation has traded at highs of US$73,162 before crashing to a low of US$60,074. That’s a 17.9% price fall within a single day, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

And this for an asset with a market cap of US$1.23 trillion.

In late morning trade on Friday, the Bitcoin price has clawed its way back to US$61,352, leaving it down 13.8% since this time yesterday.

That sees the virtual token down a painful 51.4% since notching a record high of US$126,198 on 7 October.

And investors won’t have found any safety in Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) of late either.

The world’s second-largest crypto has tumbled 13% over the past 24 hours, currently trading at US$1,856. That’s up from US$1,749 just a few hours ago.

But the Ethereum price has a long way to go before recouping the 63.6% losses it suffered since hitting its own record highs of US$4,954 on 25 August.

So, where are crypto markets getting hammered?

What’s pressuring the Bitcoin price?

Commenting on the world’s top crypto sinking to one-year plus lows, Emir Ibrahim, analyst at Zerocap, said, “The move lower in Bitcoin overnight reflects a violent leverage unwind rather than a deterioration in fundamentals.”

He added:

Thin order books combined with elevated positioning saw forced liquidations cascade through the market, briefly pushing BTC into the low US$63,000 mark, as the market worked through a multi-billion-dollar reset in leverage.

Ibrahim noted that the selling pressure isn’t just impacting the Bitcoin price.

“This event was not isolated to crypto,” he said.

Indeed, the Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) closed down 1.6% overnight. The tech-heavy index is now down 4.5% since Monday’s close.

According to Ibrahim:

Risk assets sold off in tandem, with a tech-led drawdown in equities and sharp reversals in commodities pointing to a broader ‘dash for cash’ environment.

In crypto specifically, derivatives markets moved rapidly into short-gamma territory, with volatility bid aggressively and downside skew widening as late long positioning capitulated.

Joel Kruger, markets strategist at LMAX Group, said the tumbling Bitcoin price is pulling down investor sentiment in the broader crypto space.

“Price action across crypto has been undeniably heavy over the past 24 hours, with Bitcoin acting as the primary drag on broader sentiment,” he said (quoted by The Australian Financial Review).

“That said, many of the hallmarks of capitulation are now in place: daily technicals are deeply oversold, the fear and greed index has slipped to extreme lows,” Kruger added.

The post The Bitcoin price has now halved since October. What’s going on? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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