Bitcoin and Ether’s explosive move liquidates $200 million worth of positions, what’s next?

• Bitcoin price showed explosive growth this week as it climbed 13%.
• Ethereum price followed BTC’s lead and inflated 11% in the week.
• This sudden move has caught roughly $200 million worth of traders’ positions off-guard. 

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) saw a massive spike in interest after the United States inflation number was announced on February 14. The hotter-than-forecast expectations were snuffed out, indicating that disinflation is the key narrative. Combined with the Federal Reserve’s dovish take in the February policy meeting, it was a catalyst that kick-started this explosive rally.

Also read: Bitcoin Price Forecast: US CPI shows inflation declining

Bitcoin contributes to $60 million in liquidations 

Bitcoin price rallied 13% since January 13 and is currently testing the 200-week Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $25,014. 

BTC’s explosive move has caused roughly $54 million in short positions to get rekt and, surprisingly, $4.56 million in long positions as well. 

BTC liquidations

Ethereum price remained a beta asset as it followed BTC’s path and clocked an 11% gain. Despite a lower performance, Ether wiped off $40 million in liquidations, with $36 million belonging to the bears.

ETH liquidations

Altcoins were dominating this 2023 rally even during the brief period of correction that Bitcoin underwent in the first week of February. There was a lot of money riding the altcoin wave, evident from the performance of certain coins that more than tripled in just a few days.

Looking at the overall market, it shows that $200 million worth of positions were wiped off in the last 24 hours. Just looking at February 15 liquidation data shows that $154 million worth of shorts and $14 million longs were caught off guard.

Total liquidations

What’s next for cryptos?

Bitcoin price is currently testing the 200-week SMA at $25,014, which closely coincides with the $25,000 psychological level. The Momentum Reversal Indicator’s (MRI) resistance level lies at $25,207. 

BTC/USDT 1-week chart

This level is critical in determining the fate of this ongoing bull run. Overcome this resistance confluence and Bitcoin price could easily tag the $30,000 psychological level. If such a situation were to play out, the crypto market would flip extremely bullish and would likely cause many altcoins to recover above the pre-FTX crash levels seen in May 2022.

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