Historically, October has been a bullish month, often celebrated as “Uptober.” However, this year, October has kicked off with considerable turmoil as geopolitical tensions between Israel and Iran escalate.
This conflict has had a far-reaching impact on global markets, with cryptocurrencies bearing a significant brunt of the fallout.
Bitcoin Falls to $60,200 Due to Crypto Liquidations
On October 1, Iran launched a major missile attack on Israel. This marked the second such assault this year, following a similar incident in April. The situation prompted a stern warning from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who promised “consequences” in retaliation.
These events have plunged global markets into a state of heightened uncertainty, affecting cryptocurrencies significantly.
As tensions soared, the crypto market experienced immediate repercussions. Bitcoin’s value tumbled to just below $60,200, marking a sharp 6% decline from its previous high of around $64,000. Consequently, the market witnessed extensive liquidations, with Coinglass reporting that liquidations over the last 24 hours amounted to a staggering $523.37 million.
Read more: How To Trade Crypto on Binance Futures: Everything You Need To Know
Long positions were predominantly affected, with $451 million liquidated, while short positions saw more than $71 million erased. This market volatility resulted in the liquidation of 154,011 traders, with the largest single order valued at $12.66 million occurring on Binance in the BTCUSDT pair.
Moreover, the US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded substantial outflows. Data from SoSoValue indicated that on October 1, there were aggregate outflows of $242.53 million, marking the largest outflow in nearly a month and the third-largest in five months.
The Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) saw the heftiest outflow, losing $144.67 million, followed by substantial withdrawals from the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) and other funds. Contrarily, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) bucked the trend, registering an inflow of $40.84 million, continuing its 15-day streak of no outflows.
The market events have also influenced investor sentiment. The crypto fear and greed index has now regressed to the “fear” category, dropping to a level of 42 from a neutral score of 50 just the day before. This shift highlights the market’s sensitivity to external geopolitical disruptions and their potent ability to influence investor behavior.
Read more: What Is the Crypto Fear and Greed Index?
Despite the current downturn, some market experts maintain a positive outlook on Bitcoin’s prospects. André Dragosch, European head of research at Bitwise, suggests that Bitcoin tends to recover well after major geopolitical risks.
“Geopolitical news should generally be faded,” Dragosch said.
Echoing this sentiment, a recent BlackRock report posits Bitcoin as a viable safe haven during global crises. The report lauds Bitcoin’s decentralized and non-sovereign characteristics, which protect it from geopolitical shocks and economic uncertainties that often afflict traditional assets.
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