Bitcoin Skyrockets After Federal Reserve Interest Rate Announcement, Shorts Worth $151.69 Million Liquidated
The value of bitcoin (BTC) reached an impressive $68,000 just 17 hours after dropping to $60,760 per unit. Following the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the entire cryptocurrency market experienced a 5.9% upturn, with bitcoin rising 6.8% against the US dollar.
After a significant decline on Tuesday and the conclusion of the FOMC meeting, in which the US Federal Reserve decided to maintain the current benchmark interest rate, BTC saw a noticeable increase from the $65,500 range to $68,058 per coin by 6:15 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Wednesday.
Currently, the cryptocurrency market is buzzing with a trading volume of $207 billion, with BTC accounting for $72.93 billion of this figure. BTC is currently trading just below the $68,000 mark, at $67,432 per unit at 6:55 p.m. ET. The dominant trading pairs for BTC include USDT, FDUSD, and the US dollar.
Circle’s USDC is the fourth most traded pair with bitcoin, while the Korean won claims the fifth spot, representing 3.36% of the day’s global transactions. The leading spot bitcoin exchanges by volume are Binance, Coinbase, Bybit, Okx, and Upbit.
While the global average price of BTC is $67,631 per unit, South Korean crypto trading platforms Upbit and Bithumb are exchanging BTC at a premium, fetching $74,993 per coin. On Wednesday, derivatives exchanges witnessed a significant number of short sellers facing setbacks, with $151.69 million in BTC short positions liquidated.
At the same time, over $128 million in ETH long positions were also eliminated from leveraged trades. In total, a significant $444.66 million was liquidated throughout the day in the crypto market, including $241.03 million in long positions and $203.63 million in short positions across leading derivatives exchanges, causing a major shakeup. By 8:11 p.m. on Wednesday evening, BTC had climbed back up to the $67,877 range.
Current metrics from intotheblock.com reveal that 96% of bitcoin holders are currently seeing profits. Over the past week, there has been a net inflow of $19.79 billion and an outflow of $20 billion on exchanges. Additionally, BTC transactions exceeding $100,000 have amounted to $170 billion this week.
What are your thoughts on bitcoin’s rebound after the recent downturn? Share your opinions in the comments section below.