For a brief period, it seemed like everyone who had ever put money into Bitcoin was making a profit. But now, as the cryptocurrency pulls back from its recent peak, there’s a sense of uncertainty hanging in the air. People are wondering how long they’ll be swept up in the aftermath of the “sell-the-news” phenomenon.

The original digital currency took a significant hit, dropping by as much as 14% after reaching an all-time high of $69,191 earlier this week. According to Coinglass, a crypto data tracker, over $800 million worth of bullish positions have already been wiped out in the perpetual futures market as prices take a nosedive.
These drastic price swings are just the latest example of Bitcoin’s volatile nature. Despite its recent surge of over 60% since the year began, driven by excitement over the approval of US exchange-traded funds that could directly hold the tokens, Bitcoin has a history of extreme highs and lows. Past cycles have seen gains of over 1,000% in a year, followed by periods where investors watched their holdings lose nearly three-quarters of their value.

Ayesha Kiani, COO at MNNC Group, notes that massive liquidations often accompany new all-time highs, signaling the need for some market adjustments.
The recent gains were largely fueled by bullish bets in the derivatives market, where investors could leverage their positions up to 100 times their original size. This surge in speculative activity pushed the open interest on Bitcoin futures contracts to a record high of over $30 billion.
Spencer Hallarn, global head of over-the-counter trading at GSR, observes that long-biased speculation has resurfaced in crypto derivative venues, leaving the market vulnerable to short-term de-leveraging.
The funding rate, which reflects the cost of holding leveraged positions, has surged to multi-year highs, indicating heightened speculation. Vetle Lunde, senior analyst at K33 Research, advises traders to be cautious with leverage in the current market conditions, as large price movements can wipe out over-leveraged positions.
Shiliang Tang, president of Arbelos Markets, suggests that speculators may now turn their attention to smaller coins like Ether or Solana as a “catch-up trade” while Bitcoin maintains its dominance in the market.
Despite the short-term volatility, many investors believe in Bitcoin’s long-term potential, driven by expectations of continued inflows into Bitcoin ETFs. Leo Mizuhara, CEO of Hashnote, predicts that Bitcoin could reach $138,000 at some point, based on historical patterns.
Michael Safai, co-founder of Dexterity Capital, sees Bitcoin’s new all-time high as a testament to its resilience and potential for growth.