Bitcoin October Rally Stalls as Long Liquidations Hit 28-Month High

The long-awaited October breakout for Bitcoin has stalled as long liquidations hit a 28-month high, with whales selling 24.1K BTC at a loss.

Bitcoin’s highly anticipated gains for October have failed to materialize, leaving market participants disappointed. Despite starting the business week on a strong note, briefly surpassing $64,400, Bitcoin’s upward momentum proved to be short-lived.

The asset soon began to retreat, with its price falling to $62,000 by midweek. As the decline intensified, Bitcoin plummeted to $60,400 on Thursday, reaching a multi-week low of $58,800 later that day.

Long Liquidations Hit 28-Month High

The decline in Bitcoin’s value has triggered a wave of long liquidations. According to data, the drop on October 1 saw $239 million in long liquidations, with another significant liquidation occurring between October 9th and 10th, amounting to $290 million. 

$BTC Long liquidations USD hit $290,000,000 during the recent drop

“This marks the largest total amount of long liquidations since June 2022, a span of 28 months.” – By @JA_Maartun

Full post 👇https://t.co/EdcDlXSrd2 pic.twitter.com/mlpfFseNHM

— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) October 11, 2024

The latest figure represents the largest total amount of long liquidations since June 2022. Notably, Bitcoin experienced an 11% drop in just 12 days, falling from $66,500 to $58,900. The long liquidations during this period underline the heightened bearish pressure in the market, with traders facing substantial losses.

Whale Activity and Loss-Making Sales

Adding to the market’s woes, whale activity has raised concerns about the recent sell-off. Data reveals that 24,100 Bitcoin were sold at a loss within 24 hours, contributing to the overall market decline. 

This sell-off comes amid the accumulation of over 1.5 million BTC by whales, a narrative that has raised questions about the source of these holdings. The surge in loss-making sales on exchanges has intensified market uncertainty, casting doubt on whether the recovery expected during “Uptober” will materialize.

Historical Trends Offer Some Optimism

Despite the current downturn, some analysts remain optimistic about Bitcoin’s October performance. Historical data shows that Bitcoin has only closed October in the red twice in the past decade—once in 2014 and again in 2018. In both instances, the negative closings occurred in bear markets and followed bull cycles.

An analyst recently noted that 2023 does not reflect a similar bearish cycle, as the April Bitcoin halving typically ushers in bullish trends. In previous years when the halving occurred, Bitcoin posted double-digit gains in October, with increases of 14.71% in 2016 and 27.7% in 2020.