Bitcoin (BTC) Tumbles to 4-Week Low as Crypto Market Sheds $870M in Liquidations

What looked like prime time for crypto assets on softening inflation data has turned into an ugly week with bitcoin (BTC) tumbling to its weakest price in four weeks on Friday.

Bitcoin price dropped sharply on Friday, hitting its lowest level in four weeks as traders booked profits after a sustained rally and ahead of key U.S. inflation data.

BTC fell more than 2% within an hour to $65,100 in U.S. trading hours, after holding around the $67,000 level. The world's biggest cryptocurrency slipped 7.5% over the past seven days.

Smaller cryptocurrencies clocked steeper declines, with the CoinDesk 20 Index, a broad-market benchmark, shedding nearly 12% week-over-week.

Ether dropped to $3,400, losing over 10% during this period, while native tokens of rival layer-1 networks Solana, Avalanche, Cardano and Near clocked 15%-20% declines, according to CoinGecko.

The sharp drop led to the liquidation of nearly $180 million in leveraged derivatives positions across crypto assets over 24 hours, with the majority being longs betting on higher prices, according to CoinGlass data. This week's sell-off saw a total of over $870 million in liquidations, flushing out excess leverage from markets.

Recent analysis and many market participants anticipated an imminent breakout for bitcoin to new record highs, supported by a slower pace of inflation and softer economic data, but attempts at rallies were quickly sold off, leaving BTC stuck in its sideways range.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday projected only one rate cut for this year, less than the central bank's previous forecast, dashing investor hopes for a looser monetary policy this summer. Political uncertainty in Europe, with a snap election being called in France, also pushed the U.S. dollar index (DXY) to its highest level in over a month against other major currencies, putting pressure on bitcoin.

Bitcoin also faced increased selling from miners and long-term holders booking profits at the $70,000 zone, 10X Research noted, weighing on the broader crypto market.

News source：https://www.kdj.com/cryptocurrencies-news/articles/bitcoin-btc-tumbles-week-low-crypto-market-sheds-m-liquidations.html

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