On August 1, Bitcoin (BTC) fell $1,600 in 60 minutes as volatility spiked and markets became chaotic.
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, a nightmare unfolded for long traders on August 1st when BTC suddenly dropped from $64,000 to $62,800.
At the time of publication, losses were still growing after BTC/USD hit a low of $62,212 on Coinbase, which was two weeks ago.
However, according to data from Coinglass, those who bet on a Bitcoin recovery suffered big losses on August 1. The crash resulted in the liquidation of $310.27 million worth of long positions, with a total loss of $337 million over the course of 24 hours.
Over the past 24 hours, $77.07 million worth of long Bitcoin positions have been liquidated, with $26.6 million wiped out in the past 4 hours alone.
The largest single liquidation occurred on OKX cryptocurrency exchange, involving a $4 million ETH-USDT swap trade.
According to market analyst DW, the collapse of positions was not “extreme” despite the significant downtrend. DW said the market was again becoming less liquid and warned that there would be heavy selling ahead.
“Mt. Gox is not behind us. It’s summer, and liquidity will be low for BTC 2024 and beyond, so whatever selloff happens will be amplified.”
Meanwhile, independent analyst Max has a more positive outlook for Bitcoin, saying the price is trading near the upper boundary of a falling expanding wedge while remaining above key moving average support levels.
“The hash ribbon also printed a buy signal,” Max declared in an August 1st X post.
According to the analyst, the current BTC price action is a short-term pullback similar to previous instances where a significant upward move followed after the ribbon turned green.
“Price immediately dropped, followed by some consolidation and a nice V-shaped recovery. As long as price holds above $60,000, the dip is for buying.”
History suggests that Bitcoin will be in the red in August.
It is not surprising that Bitcoin corrected on August 1st, as historical data shows that BTC prices tend to be weak in August after a volatile July.
According to data from Coinglass, which has been tracking BTC’s monthly returns since 2013, Bitcoin’s returns in August have historically averaged 2.24%.
In 8 of the last 11 years, the Bitcoin price has closed in August in negative territory, and historically the median return has been -6%.
Independent analyst Karen Do also highlighted this point in an August 1 post on X, noting the sharp correction in the Bitcoin price.
“On August 1, gold and oil prices were rising, but Bitcoin was not.”
Karen also pointed out that Bitcoin ignored the 100% chance of a Fed rate cut, which she said “doesn’t seem to be enough to drive BTC prices higher.”
This article does not contain any investment advice or recommendations. All investment and trading moves involve risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making decisions.