Since then, average daily liquidations have remained well below this year’s typical $400 million-$500 million range, suggesting there has been little forced selling despite the macro shock, according to Bitfinex.
“Crypto fell less than levered equity themes because the forced-selling fuel was already spent,” the analysts wrote.
Security concerns linger
Separately, the market is also digesting the fallout from a major exploit involving Coldcard, which resulted in at least $38 million worth of bitcoin being stolen.
The incident hasn’t materially affected price action, but it marked another blowback as digital asset-related exploits have surged and reignited debate around risks of self-custody, one of crypto’s fundamental promises.
“The proceeds haven’t yet been liquidated, but the knock-on effect of this and the likelihood of liquidation will weigh on bitcoin pricing in the near term,” said Paul Howard, director at trading firm Wincent. More broadly, he said, the exploit highlights the operational risks that continue to accompany self-custody.
Read more: Coldcard’s $38 million (so far) exploit shakes faith in self-custody, may push investors to ETFs
Eyes on jobs data and ETF flows
Looking ahead, macro uncertainty remains the dominant theme.
Jeff Anderson, managing partner at STS Digital, said markets may be entering “a new volatility regime” as investors swing between expectations for rate cuts, pauses and hikes. That uncertainty, he said, is likely to keep pressure on high-beta assets such as bitcoin until the economic outlook becomes clearer.
