Crypto Bulls See $400M Liquidations as Solana, Dogecoin Lead Slide in Majors

Major tokens slid as much as 8% in the past 24 hours as bitcoin (BTC) reversed last week’s gains amid selling pressure caused by a stronger dollar, leading to over $400 million bullish bets being liquidated.

Data shows that bitcoin fell 5%, with ether (ETH), Cardano’s ADA, and BNB Chain’s BNB showing similar losses. Solana’s SOL dropped 7% to trade at $185 after briefly touching $200 on Monday, while Dogecoin (DOGE) dropped more than 8%. Bitcoin Cash’s BCH fell 10% amid profit-taking after a 40% rally in the past week, buoyed by the expected halving event for the network on April 4.

The broad-based CoinDesk 20, a liquid index tracking major tokens minus stablecoins, slumped just over 5%.

Longs, or bets on higher prices, took on more than $400 million in liquidations, with shorts, or bets against, taking on a relatively smaller $85 million. A liquidation happens when a trader has insufficient funds to keep a leveraged trade open.

Analysts at crypto exchange Bitfinex told CoinDesk in an email that some long-term investors sold off holdings in the past week, adding they expect bitcoin to be range-bound in the coming weeks.

“We believe that bitcoin is likely to continue to consolidate within a range, as previously dormant supply, particularly among Long-Term Holders (LTHs), is being sold (although at a relatively smaller scale than previous bull market tops),” Bitfinex said.

“There is strategic profit-taking observed among the LTH cohort (holders of BTC of more than 155 days),” the analysts added.

Elsewhere, FxPro senior market analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said in a message that bitcoin faces resistance at the $71,000 level as broader markets show caution against riskier assets.

“Bitcoin's fourth attempt to consolidate above $71K this week was unsuccessful. The Nasdaq100 also showed some downward bias, indicating a cautious attitude towards risky assets, although the S&P500 closed at another high,” Kuptsikevich said. “Bitcoin has thus found strong resistance, and the $69.5K and $68.5K levels attract our increased attention.”