Key Points
- Bitcoin has reached an all-time high against the euro and pound.
- Price volatility has led to a significant increase in liquidations of leveraged bitcoin positions.
Bitcoin has set a new record high against the euro and pound. The leading cryptocurrency was trading at €60,447 and £51,736 on Coinbase on Monday, marking an all-time high.
Bitcoin's Performance
Despite the new highs against the euro and pound, Bitcoin has not yet surpassed its all-time high in U.S. dollar terms, which was over $69,000, also on Coinbase, in November 2021. The price of Bitcoin has risen nearly 6% in the last 24 hours, trading at $65,163 at 5:34 a.m. ET.
The Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the U.S. currency against six major competitors, showed an upward trend last week. It has gained 2.7% cumulatively in January and February of 2023. A recent market report from Grayscale indicates a steady decline in U.S. inflation since the beginning of the year. Higher U.S. interest rates could increase the value of the dollar and potentially negatively impact Bitcoin.
Liquidations Increase
The surge in Bitcoin's price above $65,000 in early-day trading on Friday has led to a spike in liquidations of leveraged bitcoin positions. The price volatility has resulted in more than $80 million in bitcoin position liquidations, with the majority ($60 million) being shorts, as per CoinGlass data.
The overall crypto market saw over $160 million of liquidated short positions in the last 24 hours, contributing to $251 million in liquidations across various centralized exchanges. Liquidations occur when a trader's position is forcibly closed due to insufficient funds to cover losses. This typically happens when market movements are unfavorable to the trader's position, resulting in the depletion of their initial margin or collateral.
The GM 30 Index, which represents a selection of the top 30 cryptocurrencies, has increased by 4.22% to 139.68 in the past 24 hours.
