Ether Drops 5% as ‘Mini Crash’ in Crypto Market Drives Bitcoin Below $70k

Red-hued abstract overlay of financial data trends and graphs
Source:AdobeStock
  • Uptober concludes with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies dropping significantly, countering analyst predictions of a new all-time high.
  • Market decline aligns with decreasing chances of a Donald Trump presidential win, reflecting sentiment from prediction markets.
  • Despite the downturn, market experts remain optimistic about crypto’s future post-election.
  • Recent trading resulted in US$220 million in liquidations, marking a notable but not the largest market pullback in recent months.

Uptober has ended the month with a certainly spooky, almost Halloween-esque downturn. Many analysts had anticipated a new all-time high (ATH) for Bitcoin soon, as it looked like the OG crypto might be breaking out of this up-and-down action we’ve seen over the past few months.

Related: Ethereum Sci-Fi Game Serves as Blueprint for Roland Emmerich’s ‘Space Nation’ TV Show

But alas, here we are again, BTC and other crypto assets are in the red again. In the past 24 hours, Bitcoin has dropped 4.13%, Ethereum dropped by 5.71%, and Dogecoin is down 6.09% despite positive Elon Musk news.

Bitcoin (BTC), daily chart, source: CoinMarketCap

Crypto Market Slides with Diminishing Odds of Trump Election Win

The slump in crypto prices comes as Donald Trump’s odds of becoming the next president of the United States appear to decrease. While by no means representative, Polymarket, which had Trump in the high sixties for the last few days, shows a 5.6% drop in his odds toward 60%.

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Meanwhile, more conventional polls show the election as almost too close to call.

While Trump is heavily favoured in the crypto community, many observers have said that Bitcoin will fare well no matter who wins.

Standard Chartered’s Geoffrey Kendrick for example believes the dip is only temporary, adding that regardless of the election result prices are going to rise. Rebecca Rettig, chief legal and policy officer at Polygon Labs sang a similar tune, saying that a new approach for crypto is coming “regardless who wins”. 

Crash Sees $220 Million in Liquidations, Bull Run Still On?

According to data from Coinglass, the last 24 hours also saw 78,411 traders liquidated, with a total volume of US$220.63 million (AU$335.2 million) in liquidations. Naturally, Bitcoin is the asset with the largest losses, with over US$60 million (AU$91 million) in long positions liquidated.

While it wasn’t the largest flush-out by any means, this is nevertheless a significant one. As the Coinglass total liquidations chart shows, this was one of the larger liquidations of the past few months.

Total Liquidations Chart, source: Coinglass

Related: US Treasury Expresses Concerns Over Stablecoins, Advocates Transitioning to CBDCs

Does this mean we will see further corrections? Not necessarily, says crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe. The CIO and Founder of MNConsultancy with 734k followers on Crypto Twitter believes Bitcoin is just consolidating before it moves to new highs.

And Ethereum? Well, the analyst suggests that while ETH may face a further 10-20% drop if the current downward trend continues, a reversal in yields could also indicate an upcoming positive shift for Ethereum. He notes that upcoming unemployment data will be crucial.

Aaron Feuerstein
Author

Aaron Feuerstein

Aaron Feuerstein is a freelance writer based in Melbourne. His focus is on decentralised finance and the regulatory space surrounding blockchain. He holds a Master's in Accounting. When he is not studying the latest legal case, he enjoys his time as a modest but eager hobby cook.

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