Bitcoin Plummets as Much as 10% in Deepening Crypto Sector Selloff

Bitcoin delivered another roller coaster ride on Tuesday as it drops 10% before paring much of the slide as speculators struggled to price in the prospect of even bigger Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes to quell inflation.

Also on Tuesday, the Crypto linked shares in Asia, such as Monex Group and SBI Holdings Inc., retreated amid the gloomy overall mood.

The world’s largest digital token more than halved a $2,386 intraday drop to trade at $22,690 as of 2:19 p.m. in Tokyo. Coins such as Ether and Avalanche also trimmed losses, while Polkadot was among those flirting with gains.

Cryptocurrencies have become emblematic of a flight from speculative assets as monetary policy is tightened around the world to fight inflation, draining liquidity from global markets. Each swoon evokes the obligatory question of whether the time is right to buy the dip because a nadir may be close at hand, Bloomberg reported.

Sathvik Vishwanath, chief executive officer of the Unocoin crypto exchange, said from Bengaluru, India said “There were some buyers waiting for an opportunity to buy on dips and that’s why Bitcoin has come off its lows.” But the reprieve may be temporary as retail investors remain jittery about liquidity, he added.
Currently the data shows that there are more than $1.1 billion was liquidated in the crypto markets on Monday -- about $685 million of longs and $468 million on the short side, according to Coinglass data. That’s the most for both longs and shorts in at least the past three months.