Crypto Market Loses Over $170 Million Amid Santa Rally Expectations
The crypto market sees a major drop in Asia; Bitcoin falls 2%, and Ethereum is down 2%, amid high funding rates and market uncertainty.
The crypto market experienced a big drop in Asia, with the global crypto market cap falling 1% to $1.65 trillion.
Bitcoin's price dropped 2% quickly, from $43,400 to $42,500, totaling almost a 3% fall in 24 hours. Other major cryptocurrencies like ETH, SOL, BNB, and XRP also saw a 2-4% decrease.
Traders expected a "Santa Claus rally" but got worried due to high funding rates. According to Coinglass, a data platform, high funding rates meant a lot of market changes. This led traders to sell their cryptocurrencies quickly. In just one hour, $40 million worth of long positions were sold, and in 24 hours, 70,611 traders were affected, with total sales reaching $170 million. Ethereum had the most sales in the last hour.
Also, Mt. Gox creditors started receiving Bitcoin payments, which might lead some to sell their Bitcoin.
CoinGape reported that this Friday's big options event could be important, with many Bitcoin and Ethereum options due. Traders might change their positions due to high funding rates and other factors like potential Bitcoin ETF approval and Bitcoin halving.
Bitcoin's price fell from $43,765 to $42,759, with a 26% increase in trading volume. Ethereum's price is now at $2,231, down over 2%, with a slight increase in trading volume.
