- Heavy selling operations of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple amid a general risk-avoidance trend in the market.

Bitcoin's price began to decline on Thursday, with a widespread risk aversion in global markets after the Federal Reserve halted its monetary easing cycle and kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell took a hawkish stance during the press conference following the meeting. The absence of any signals of future rate cuts led to decreased demand for high-risk assets such as Bitcoin and altcoins.
Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, speculation about the nomination of the Federal Reserve Chair, and outflows from exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are among the factors that exacerbated Bitcoin's sell-off to $81,118, recording its lowest level of the day.
These challenges led to massive liquidations of long positions, with traders using leverage losing over $405 million on Friday and about $433 million on Thursday. As investor risk appetite continues to wane, Bitcoin faces the risk of extending its price correction below the psychological support level of $80,000.
"Declines are worsening due to the liquidation of leveraged positions, as over-leveraged long positions are being wiped out, adding automatic selling pressure to an already fragile data set," said Chris Newhouse, Business Development Head at Argonia, to Bloomberg.
Bitcoin Liquidation Data | Source: CoinGlass
Meanwhile, Ethereum is experiencing intense selling pressure as its price continues to fall below $3,000, stabilizing above $2,700 at the time of writing this report on Friday. CoinGlass data indicates long buy position liquidations worth approximately $244 million on Friday and $175 million on Thursday.
Ethereum Liquidation Data | Source: CoinGlass
XRP faces ongoing pressure, trading above its lowest level since April 9 at $1.72, affected by buy position liquidations worth around $57 million. If bullish traders fail to defend the support level at $1.72, XRP's decline could extend below its April 7 low of $1.61, potentially leading to further leverage trading liquidations.
XRP Liquidation Data