Bitcoin Dip Below $80,000 Wipes Out $404 Million in Longs

Bitcoin fell below $80,000 on Saturday, wiping out $404 million in leveraged long positions within four hours.

The cryptocurrency briefly fell below the key psychological level on Saturday. Around 11:20 a.m. ET, it hit roughly $79,280, then recovered to $80,138 by 1 p.m.

CoinGlass data showed that long positions dominated the $436.44 million liquidated by 1 p.m. ET on Saturday. The previous day saw 201,012 traders lose $815.26 million, marking a 218% rise.

Most of the liquidations came in two distinct bursts during the morning session. The first saw $208.21 million in longs wiped out in the 15 minutes from 10:15 a.m. ET as bitcoin fell from about $80,640 to $80,100. Another $131.17 million was liquidated in the 15 minutes from 11:15 a.m.

1. 10:15 a.m. ETFirst burst

   $208.21 million in longs liquidated as price fell from $80,640 to $80,100.

2. 11:15 a.m. ETSecond burst

   Another $131.17 million in longs liquidated in 15 minutes.

3. 11:20 a.m. ETLow point

   Bitcoin touched about $79,280.

4. 1:00 p.m. ETRecovery

   Price climbed back to $80,138.

Binance and Hyperliquid saw the highest concentration of long liquidations. Of the four-hour total, Binance handled $226.07 million, with 96% being longs. Hyperliquid recorded $70.47 million in liquidations, 99.8% of which were longs.

Bitcoin accounted for $158.45 million of the four-hour liquidation total, while Ether positions made up $136.72 million. This occurred even though ether has only about 18% of bitcoin's market capitalization.

CoinGlass reported that bitcoin liquidations were 94.2% longs, while ether saw 92.7%. Shorts represented $8.35 million of the $10.62 million cleared in the hour until 1:09 p.m. ET on Saturday as bitcoin rebounded.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw significant outflows earlier in the week. Bloomberg reported that investors withdrew $772.4 million from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs on Thursday and Friday, reversing net inflows exceeding $1 billion seen earlier. SoSoValue data put the loss at $773 million.

Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, said Bitcoin has shown resilience against AI debt worries that are pressuring other risk assets.

Market focus is shifting to the Federal Reserve's upcoming rate decision. The central bank holds its meeting Tuesday and Wednesday, announcing the result on the latter day. In September, it raised its policy rate range to 3.75%-4%. Rate futures indicate a 90.6% chance that the committee led by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh maintains that band, compared to 9.4% for a quarter-point hike.

Geopolitical tensions are rising with reports of Iranian threats against U.S. personnel. Citing an internal memo on increased Iranian efforts to target U.S. personnel, the Associated Press reported late Friday that the State Department is cutting staff at embassies in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The WSJ stated Saturday morning that intelligence indicates Iran is preparing attacks against Americans, prompting rapid evacuations of U.S. staff from military bases and embassies across the Middle East.

Arthur Hayes, BitMEX co-founder, described his exit from directional bets as a strategic move. He wrote early Saturday that he had shut down the directional book at Maelstrom, his family office. "I dumped it all," he wrote. "I think we gotta go down to go up." Hayes cited dicey macro and geopolitical conditions. "It looks a bit dicey out there in macro and geopolitical land," he said.

Asian markets closed lower while U.S. futures edged up. On Monday, Japan's Nikkei 225 finished 0.8% lower and South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.5%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.1%, and the Stoxx 600 gained 0.5%.

Thursday is set for the release of U.S. GDP data and the PCE inflation reading.