Bitcoin's Rate Has Dropped by $5,000 After a New High. What Happened?

In a single day, cryptocurrency exchanges liquidated the positions of traders betting on the rise of cryptocurrencies, amounting to more than $330 million.

On the evening of 17 December, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) reached a new all-time high, crossing the $108,300 mark. The price of the first cryptocurrency touched $108,388 on US exchange Coinbase and $108,353 USDT on Binance.

After setting a new record, BTC fell by almost $5,000 to $103,300.

At 10:40am, BTC is trading at around $103,900, registering a 2.7 per cent drop in one day. Bitcoin's share of the cryptocurrency market is 57.8 per cent and its capitalisation is $2.05 trillion.

The total capitalisation of the cryptocurrency market has fallen 3.8 per cent in one day to $3.82 trillion. The trading volume of digital currencies was $287 billion.

The price of Ethereum (ETH) hovered around $4,000 during the day on 17 December, but started to fall in the evening. At 10:40 a.m., the price of ETH dropped to $3,840, marking a 4.4 per cent decline in one day.

In the past 24 hours, the top 10 cryptocurrencies by capitalisation have declined. The Tron token (TRX) was the biggest loser, down 7%. Binance's BNB (BNB) and Ripple's XRP (XRP) recorded the smallest losses, both by 1%.

Of the top 100 cryptocurrencies, the Bitget Token (BGB) showed the highest growth for the second consecutive day, up 15.8%. The biggest loss was recorded by Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), a coin launched by a well-known NFT project less than a day ago. Since the start of trading, its value has fallen 56.8%.

On the list of biggest declines also follows the young token Hyperliquid (HYPE). Although it has risen more than 1,500% since its launch on 29 November, it has lost 11% in the past 24 hours.

Between cryptocurrency rate fluctuations, exchanges have liquidated the positions of 167,000 traders in the past 24 hours for a total of $420 million. Those who had bet on the market's growth suffered the biggest losses: long positions worth $335 million were forcibly closed.

What About the other Cryptocurrencies?

In the past 24 hours, the 10 largest cryptocurrencies by capitalisation have shown mixed movements. Ripple's XRP token (XRP) has risen the most, up 5.5%, and the Ripple USD stablecoin (RLUSD) is scheduled to launch on 17 December. Solana (SOL) recorded the largest decline, at 3.1%.

Of the top one hundred cryptocurrencies, the Bitget token (BGB) recorded the largest growth, up 11%. The coin's growth comes against the backdrop of the Bidget exchange, which is introducing its new LaunchX token platform. Helium (HNT) saw the steepest decline, down 11.3%.

Amid the growth of the major cryptocurrencies, exchanges have liquidated the positions of 113,000 traders in the past 24 hours for a total of $345 million. Of these, Ethereum accounted for $79 million and Bitcoin $78 million.