Bitcoin drops below $100K as $500M is liquidated

Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) has experienced a significant downturn, falling below the $100,000 mark and triggering mass liquidations affecting approximately 250,000 traders.

The total value of liquidated positions has exceeded $500 million over the past day, with more than $400 million occurring in just the last 12 hours.

This decline comes after Bitcoin had shown strength, closing the previous week above $105,000 and nearing $106,000 at times.

However, bearish momentum took hold on Friday evening, leading to a drop to around $102,000 before it further declined to approximately $99,000 on Saturday morning.

This represents the lowest price point for Bitcoin since a correction earlier in the week that saw it dip below $98,000.

Currently, Bitcoin is attempting to recover but remains just above this critical threshold.

The broader cryptocurrency market has also felt the impact of this downturn.

Altcoins such as SOL (CRYPTO:SOL), DOGE (CRYPTO:DOGE), LINK (CRYPTO:LINK), and AVAX (CRYPTO:AVAX) have seen substantial losses, with many experiencing declines nearing double digits.

Tokens like VIRTUAL (CRYPTO:VIRTUAL) have plummeted by 19%, while others like TAO (CRYPTO:TAO) and RAY (CRYPTO:RAY) have dropped by 15% and 13%, respectively.

The current volatility has been attributed to various factors, including renewed trade tensions following President Trump's announcement of tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico.

These tariffs have raised concerns about inflation and economic stability, leading investors to adopt a risk-off approach.

At the time of reporting, the Bitcoin (BTC) price was $97,349.30.