Bitcoin long liquidations surged above $145 million in the past 24 hours as the price plummeted to a multi-month low. Analysts pointed to a downturn in demand from U.S.-based investors as a major cause of the recent price correction.
Bitcoin is holding precariously above the $57,000 mark, having fallen by almost 8% in the past 24 hours, and was trading at $57,161 at 5:22 a.m. ET, according to The Block’s Price Page. The price of ether has dropped by 6.2% to $2,870 in the same period.Bitcoin price correction due to slump in demand
The report observed slower growth in the bitcoin balance of permanent holders and large 'whale' investors in the spot market. "Bitcoin whale demand growth peaked at a monthly growth rate of 12% in late March and has now slowed down to 6%. Price rallies are typically driven by faster growth in bitcoin demand from large investors," CryptoQuant analysts said.
The decline in U.S.-based demand is also evident from indicators showing that the U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund market is on track to experience its first month of net outflows since multiple funds launched on January 11.CryptoQuant analysts have set a new short-term price target for bitcoin of between $55,000 and $57,000, noting that the current bitcoin price is already below traders’ cost basis. "From a short-term valuation perspective prices may target $55,000-$57,000.