Cryptocurrencies tumbled over the weekend, with Bitcoin slumping to a three-month low of just above $63,000 as leveraged long positions were liquidated.
The largest digital asset sank 5.7% in the US on Saturday and continued to drop in Asia on Sunday to as low as $63,311, down a further 1.7% and its weakest since Aug. 17. Second-biggest token Ether, which slumped 8% in the US session, fell to $1,731 on Sunday, its lowest since July 9.
“I think this is a technical move, as Bitcoin broke down through its 200-day moving average of about $73,000, which has caused a slew of liquidations and new shorts to develop,” said Rich Rosenblum, co-founder of crypto market maker GSR.
Crypto has been pummeled in recent weeks by a confluence of factors including the expectation of higher interest rates, large outflows from US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, an AI-fueled risk-off mood and continued fallout from the recent $6 billion Binance hack.
Bitcoin has slumped about 25% since Oct. 21. Its low for the year is $57,742, reached on July 1.