As the crypto market continues to struggle, Bitcoin (BTC) has broken into a new volatile range. On March 10, the cryptocurrency fell below $80,000 and touched the $76,800 mark before recovering to $81,000 at the time of writing.
According to the latest edition of the Bitfinex Alpha report, Bitcoin’s decline to $76,800 triggered significant losses in the market, with investors recording over $950 million in liquidations across both short and long positions.
Bitcoin in New Volatile Range
Bitfinex analysts expressed expectations for a temporary upside movement toward the previous range lows near $90,000 after BTC briefly dipped below $80,000 in February. These expectations materialized last week, as the leading cryptocurrency reclaimed those levels before consolidating between $85,000 and $92,000 towards the weekend.
Bitcoin’s volatility intensified with the approaching Crypto Summit at the White House, fueled by speculation surrounding the creation of a U.S. Strategic Crypto Reserve. Notably, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing this reserve, along with a digital asset stockpile.
When news broke on March 7, crypto prices rallied across the market. However, those gains were quickly erased as investors realized that the order would not lead to immediate new buying of BTC or other cryptocurrencies. This compounded a significant Bitcoin and Ethereum options expiry event, which involved up to $3 billion, resulting in further short-term fluctuations and leaving many investors with losses.
Market Stabilization on the Horizon?
Despite Bitcoin’s negative price action, the leading cryptocurrency has maintained relative stability compared to altcoins. However, market sentiment remains cautious, and liquidity conditions combined with macroeconomic uncertainty are crucial factors that will influence the asset’s next moves.
“The intense whipsaw in price action over the past two weeks has created turbulent market conditions and driven a surge in realized volatility for Bitcoin, particularly across shorter time frames,” the report stated.
Moreover, the Bitcoin options market has reported some of the highest levels of realized volatility seen in this cycle, surpassing 80% for both one-week and two-week timeframes. This significant level of realized losses indicates that many traders and short-term holders have been compelled to exit their positions at a loss.
Nonetheless, Bitfinex pointed out that such mass capitulation events often precede phases of market stabilization, as strong hands begin accumulating Bitcoin while weak hands exit the market.
The post Bitcoin Enters New Volatile Range as Markets Continue to Struggle appeared first on CryptoPotato.
