Crypto Market Selloff: Here’s Why BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, LUNC Falling Today

The crypto market witnessed a broader selloff on Friday, causing the global crypto market cap to fall almost 4% to $1.61 trillion. The Friday’s expiry wreaks havoc on traders and investors, with nearly $250 million liquidated over the last 24 hours. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index slips from 63 (greed) to 56 (neutral).

Bitcoin price plunges within hours from $42,720 to a low of $40,631, extending the 24-hour fall to almost 4%. Top altcoins Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP, Cardano (ADA), and others also witnessed a 3-7% drop within hours.

LUNC price tumbled 9% in the past 24 hours after the recent proposals failed, with the price currently trading at $0.000113.

Crypto Market Selloff on Friday’s Expiry

Traders anticipated a major liquidation after the spot Bitcoin ETFs listings, which kept the crypto market stagnant throughout the week.

Notably, 22,000 BTC options of notional value $890 million are set to expire on January 19, with a put-call ratio of 1.1. The max pain point is $44,000, indicating that traders are under selling pressure. BTC price fell 4%, with the price currently trading at $41,419.

Moreover, 211,000 ETH options of notional value $520 million are set to expire, with a put call ratio of 0.55. The max pain point is $2,500, which is also higher than the current price of $2,469. ETH price is down 3% in the last 24 hours, with a 24-hour low of $2,426.

Crypto Market Saw $250 Million Liquidation

Coinglass data indicate massive liquidation of $250 million today, January 19. Over 103K traders were liquidated in the last 24 hours, with the largest single liquidation order on Binance’s BTCUSDT worth $7.31 million. As a result of the broader selloff, the crypto market is in “red” today.

BTC, ETH, and SOL longs lead the liquidation ranks. $2.3 million XRP longs liquidated from a total liquidation of $2.6 million.

Bitcoin and Ethereum futures open interest plunges to below $18 billion and $8.5 billion. However, it could start rising again after the expiry, expecting a recovery from recent selling pressure. Options look better despite the expiry, calls for Bitcoin and Ethereum are still high, but an overall drop in volume in the last 24 hours.

Also Read: Here’s Why Crypto Market Is Down Today, Short-Term Bitcoin ETF Impact Largely Over

Macro Impacts

Strong US dollar causing selling pressure on Bitcoin. The US dollar index (DXY) reverses back above 103.50 from 101 in early January.

Moreover, the U.S. 10-year treasury yields rising again above 4% is further putting selling pressure on Bitcoin. The US10Y is at 4.151%, jumping above the 4% level this week after the spot Bitcoin ETFs listing.

Hawkish Federal Reserve officials tempered expectations of an interest rate cut in March. Data released on Thursday showed that initial jobless claims unexpectedly declined to 187K, the lowest level since September last year.

Also Read: Bitcoin Dumping Continues As BTC Price Tanks Under $41,000, Is Grayscale Behind This?