Crypto Markets Plunge Again! Over 218,800 Traders Liquidated

The cryptocurrency market staged a sharp dive today. Bitcoin dropped below $86,000 intraday, and Ethereum fell under $2,900.  

 

As of press time, Bitcoin is down 4.99% at $85,800, Ethereum is down 5.41% at $2,829, while XRP and Dogecoin have both fallen more than 7%.  

 

Coinglass data shows that 218,800 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours.

 

The report notes that over the past weekend, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization was approximately $3.1 trillion, with average weekly trading volume of $127 billion – market activity continues to be extremely sluggish.

 

Bitcoin’s weekly turnover reached $59.9 billion, 31% below the average. 

 

Hotcoin Research’s latest view believes that after the 2024–2025 period, the structure of market participants has undergone a complete transformation.

 

The higher proportion of institutional capital means that future price movements will be far more driven by fundamentals and data, while the impact of short-term sentiment will be relatively weakened.

 

Institutional game theory and rational pricing will become the norm going forward.

 

The Bitcoin market in 2026 will be much more mature and rational – this does not mean there will be no trading opportunities, only that the dramatic overnight riches-or-ruin scenarios will be much harder to repeat.

 

Bloomberg points out that the foundation of the cryptocurrency market remains unstable – the current weeks-long sell-off began in early October, when approximately $19 billion in leveraged positions were wiped out just days after Bitcoin hit its all-time high of $126,250.

 

As selling pressure temporarily eased, the cryptocurrency recovered last week and climbed back above $90,000. Following Monday’s latest plunge, traders are now bracing for an even larger wave of downside.

 

“December opened with thick risk-off sentiment in the market,” said Sean McNulty, Head of APAC Derivatives Trading at FalconX.

 

“The most worrying signs are the very thin inflows into Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and the complete absence of dip buyers. We expect structural resistance to continue throughout the month. We are closely watching the $80,000 level for Bitcoin – that will be the next critical support.”