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Bitcoin Quickly Plunges Below $103K, With Volatility Burst Spurring $450M in Crypto Liquidations
The sharp reversal from above $106,000 wiped out early optimism, with bulls and bears mostly continuing in a stalemate.
Jun 20, 2025, 6:55 p.m.
What to know:
- A sudden tumble during U.S. trading hours wiped out bitcoin's earlier gain to above $106,000, while large cryptos like ETH, SOL, DOGE, and ADA saw even more sizable declines.
- The volatility burst led to $450 million in liquidations, mostly long positions, CoinGlass data shows.
- BTC is caught between in a "stalemate" between the bullish long-term outlook and short-term risk-off sentiment, Unity Wallet's James Toledano said.
What started as a positive day for crypto markets quickly reversed during the U.S. session with bitcoin sliding below $103,000 from the $106,500 level just hours earlier.
At press time, bitcoin had pared some of the losses, returning to $103,200, down 1.2% over the past 24 hours.
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Other large cryptocurrencies endured steeper declines. Ethereum's ether saw a sharp 4.5% drop in just 90 minutes to as low as $2,372, with trading volume spiking to nearly 800,000 ETH, nearly eight times the average hourly volume, per CoinDesk data. Solana's SOL , dogecoin and Cardano's ADA were 3%-5% lower over the same period.
The volatility burst caught many traders off-guard, liquidating about $450 million in derivatives trading positions on centralized exchanges across all digital assets, CoinGlass data shows. Some $387 million of liquidations were tied to long positions that bet on profiting from rising prices.
While macro risks abound — among them the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran — there was no immediate external reason for the sudden price swing. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 indexes only inched lower during the day.
Bitcoin at stalemate
Zooming out, BTC continues to trade within a sideways range between $100,000 and $110,000, consolidating just below its all-time record level.
"The mixed view of whether BTC will go above $110,000 again or drop into the $90,000 area doesn’t surprise me at all and underscores the overall indecision people and markets feel," said James Toledano, chief operating officer at Unity Wallet.
"The present BTC stalemate reflects a market caught between bullish long-term sentiment and short-term macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty," he added.
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Bitcoin’s Deep Correction Sets Stage for December Rebound, Says K33 Research
K33 Research says market fear is outweighing fundamentals as bitcoin nears key levels. December could offer an entry point for bold investors.
What to know:
- K33 Research says bitcoin’s steep correction shows signs of bottoming, with December potentially marking a turning point.
- The firm has argued that the market is overreacting to long-term risks while ignoring near-term signals of strength, like low leverage and solid support levels.
- With likely policy shifts ahead and cautious positioning in futures, K33 sees more upside potential than risk of another major collapse.
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