Solana, Dogecoin, and XRP prices drop 10% due to $770 million in long liquidations at the beginning of the week
Crypto markets experienced a tumultuous start to the week, marked by significant losses across several major cryptocurrencies. The downward trend resulted in $770 million in long liquidations within a 24-hour period, driven by Bitcoin’s drop below $100,000. Solana’s SOL and Dogecoin (DOGE) bore the brunt of the losses, plummeting over 10%, while other prominent cryptocurrencies like Ether (ETH), BNB Chain’s BNB, XRP, and Cardano’s ADA also saw substantial declines of up to 9%. This swift decline in prices caused the overall market cap to shrink by 8.5% during the Asian afternoon hours on Monday.
The negative sentiment extended beyond the top twenty cryptocurrencies, affecting tokens across various sectors. Memecoin Pepe (PEPE), layer 1 upstart Aptos (APT), Gate.io’s GATE, and AI Agent creation platform Virtuals (VIRTUALS) all suffered losses of up to 18%. In the midst of this downward spiral, Jupiter’s JUP emerged as a lone performer in the green, recording a 3.5% gain over the previous 24 hours. This positive movement was attributed to Jupiter’s decision to repurchase tokens from the open market using the fees generated on its trading platform, potentially resulting in significant net buying volumes over the course of a year.
The decline in cryptocurrency prices was further exacerbated by Bitcoin’s dip below $99,000 early on Monday, as traders opted to capitalize on profits ahead of the first U.S. FOMC meeting of the year. This move mirrored losses in U.S. stock futures, impacted by news surrounding the cost and capabilities of China-based DeepSeek, which challenged a narrative previously championed by OpenAI. As a result, futures markets tracking Bitcoin experienced losses of $238 million within the past 24 hours, primarily during the early European and Asian afternoon trading sessions. Long positions in SOL and DOGE saw collective losses of $50 million, while altcoin-tracked products endured a $138 million drop, and Ether-tracked futures contracted by $84 million.
One notable occurrence amidst the turbulent market conditions was the liquidation of a significant single order on HTX, a tether-margined BTC trade valued at $98.4 million. Liquidations are common in the volatile crypto market and can serve as valuable indicators of market sentiment and positioning. They may signal an overextended market in need of a price correction, with areas of high liquidation volumes potentially acting as support or resistance levels influencing price movements. While bearish traders may interpret heavy liquidations as validation for short positions, contrarian traders could perceive them as buying opportunities, anticipating a price rebound once selling pressure subsides. The current market conditions are a reflection of the inherent volatility and unpredictability of the cryptocurrency landscape, where market sentiment can quickly shift based on external factors and investor behavior.
