Bitcoin Plunges to $66K, Altcoins Tumble 10-15% on Ugly Day for Risk Assets

Cryptocurrencies
tumbled
Friday
as
risk-off
sentiment
in
traditional
markets
amid
flared-up
geopolitical
risks
spread
over
to
digital
assets.

In
fast
downward
afternoon
action
during
U.S.
trading,
bitcoin

(BTC)
plunged
below
$66,000
after
having
challenged
the
$71,000
level
just
hours
earlier.
At
press
time,
bitcoin
had
bounced
back
to
$66,700,
down
more
than
5%
over
the
past
24
hours.

Ether

(ETH),
the
second-largest
cryptocurrency
by
market
cap,
fell
as
much
as
12%
to
$3,100
before
a
modest
bounce
cut
the
decline
to
8%.

Smaller
cryptos
suffered
even
heavier
losses
in
the
panicky
action.
The
broad-market

CoinDesk
20
Index
(CD20)
dropped
nearly
10%,
with
Cardano’s

ADA,
Avalanche’s

AVAX,
bitcoin
cash

(BCH),
filecoin

(FIL)
and
aptos

(APT)
plummeting
15-20%.

The
drawdown
triggered
the
largest
leverage
washout
in
a
month,
liquidating
some
$850
million
of
leveraged
derivatives
trading
positions
across
all
digital
assets,

CoinGlass
data
shows.
Some
$770
million
of
those
positions
were
longs
betting
on
rising
prices,
caught
off-guard
by
the
sudden
decline.

The
dip
occurred
as
stock
markets
sank
during
the
U.S
trading
session
amid
rising
fears
of
broadening
conflict
in
the
Middle
East,
as
U.S.
authorities

warned
that
Iran
could
prepare
to
launch
a
significant
attack
on
Israel.

Treasury
bonds
and
the
U.S.
dollar
index
(DXY)
surged
as
traders
flocked
to
hedges,
while
key
U.S.
equity
indices
the
S&P500
and
Nasdaq
100
slipped
1.7%
an
hour
ahead
of
the
close
of
the
trading
session.
Gold,
long
considered
as
a
haven
asset,
surged
past
$2,400
to
a
new
all-time
high
before
paring
its
gains,
while
oil
ticked
1%
higher.

Digital
asset
investment
firm
Ryze
Labs,
formerly
Sino
Global
Capital,
said
in
a
Friday
commentary
to
anticipate
some
“short-term
market
softness”
for
crypto
assets
due
to
the
upcoming
tax
season.
However,
it
maintained
a
more
constructive
long-term
outlook,
expecting
relief
for
the
asset
class
as
policymakers
will
slow
quantitative
tightening
and
potentially
adjust
monetary
policy
to
facilitate
U.S.
government
debt
rollovers.