What was first perceived as a test of all-time highs for Bitcoin turned into a sharp decline, with the largest cryptocurrency in the world just holding onto a weekly gain. Bitcoin’s recent collapse below the $70K support level led several other crypto assets to experience huge losses. The decreases in Ethereum (ETH), BNB, Solana (SOL), and XRP were 2.6%, 3%, 3.9%, and 5%, respectively.

Unsurprisingly, the meme coin category saw a downturn following the release of GameStop’s disappointing earnings report and the lack of interest from investors in Keith Gill’s, aka Roaring Kitty, first YouTube livestream in years.  

Bitcoin was trading at $69,300 at the time of publication, a decrease of 3% over the previous day. Double-digit losses have been experienced by Pepe, Dogwifhat (WIF), and Bonk, while Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) are down 7% and 6%, respectively. 

147,070 traders were liquidated in the last 24 hours, for a total liquidation value of $409.51 million. The greatest single liquidation order, worth $5.2 million, was placed on OKX – ETH-USD-SWAP.  

Forcibly terminating a trader’s position in the crypto market is known as “liquidation.” It happens when there is not enough margin to cover maintenance expenses or when a trader experiences large losses to the point that their margin accounts were unable to sustain their open positions. 

After breaking beyond $72K earlier on Friday, Bitcoin began to decline momentarily after the release of the government’s much stronger-than-expected May employment data, which showed an increase of 272,000 jobs. That appeared to crush expectations of an impending Federal Reserve interest rate drop, driving up interest rates and the dollar’s value

Despite the robustness of the labor market, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated earlier this month that inflation has significantly decreased from a multi-decade high in 2022. In the past, officials thought some easing could be required to drop inflation to their objective of 2%, with a decline in job demand relieving upward pressure on wages.  

Higher interest rates negatively impact the value of so-called risk assets, such as stocks and cryptocurrency, because storing cash or US Treasuries offers comparatively higher returns.

The worldwide cryptocurrency industry saw significant changes after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 and Ethereum ETFs months later. Despite recent meltdowns in the crypto market, sentiments are still mostly positive for the long term.
Crypto firms that have filed or submitted draft registration statements for initial public offerings (IPOs), which might happen this year, include stablecoin issuer Circle and blockchain provider Chia Network. Moreover, eToro, a trading platform, is deliberating going public, and Animoca Brands has some IPO prospects lined up for 2025 or 2026.