More than 160,000 people were liquidated: Bitcoin once again staged a "high diving"

After setting new highs continuously, Bitcoin has been performing "high diving" in recent days.

On March 17, Beijing time, Bitcoin fell again, falling below the $65,000 mark, with the largest intraday decline exceeding 6%. CoinGlass data showed that in the past 24 hours, a total of 166,200 virtual currency positions were liquidated, with a total liquidation amount of $532 million (about RMB 3.8 billion).

Since the beginning of this year, the price of Bitcoin has continued to rise, and has hit new highs since March. According to CoinGlass market data, the price of Bitcoin hit a high of $73,881.3 on March 14. However, the price of Bitcoin has subsequently experienced a continuous and sharp correction. As of press time, the price of Bitcoin has fallen back to around $66,500.

Institutions have different views on the future trend of Bitcoin. Analysts at Bernstein, a well-known US investment management and research company, believe that the rise of Bitcoin has just begun and is expected to rise to $150,000 by the middle of next year. JPMorgan Chase has issued a warning that the price of Bitcoin may plummet to $42,000 per coin, with a potential decline of more than 36% from the current price.

Bitcoin staged another "high diving" and more than 160,000 people were liquidated

On March 17, Beijing time, Bitcoin fell sharply during trading, falling below the $65,000 mark at one point, with a low of $64,750. The maximum intraday decline exceeded 6%.

Affected by this, virtual currencies as a whole have experienced significant adjustments. As of press time, Bitcoin fell 3.74% to $66,471; Ethereum was at $3,567, down 4.25% on the day, once falling below $3,500; Dogecoin fell 9.61%.

CoinGlass data shows that within 24 hours, more than 166,200 people had their positions liquidated in the virtual currency market, with a total amount of US$532 million (approximately RMB 3.8 billion).

Since the second half of last year, the price of Bitcoin has continued to rise. Since February this year, the price of Bitcoin has accelerated, quickly breaking through $70,000 from less than $40,000.

Since February 28, within half a month, Bitcoin broke through the $60,000 and $67,000 mark, and broke through $69,000 on the evening of March 5, setting a new record for the first time. On the evening of March 8, Bitcoin broke through $70,000 during the trading session. On March 11, Bitcoin broke through the $71,000 and $72,000 mark successively. On March 12, Bitcoin broke through the $73,000 mark during the trading session. On March 14, Bitcoin surged to $73,881.3 during the trading session, setting a new record.

Market analysts believe that the logic behind this wave of Bitcoin price increases is relatively clear.

First, the issuance of Bitcoin spot ETFs will bring more incremental funds to the market. On January 11, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission officially approved 11 Bitcoin spot ETF applications, including those of BlackRock and other institutions. Since its listing, Bitcoin ETFs have been rapidly attracting funds. According to FarsideInvestors data, as of March 12, Bitcoin spot ETFs have accumulated a net inflow of US$10.1003 billion since their launch. This inflow speed fully reflects the market's strong interest and demand for Bitcoin ETFs, and also drives the spot price of Bitcoin higher.

Second, the positive factors such as "halving" are fermenting. It is understood that Bitcoin "halving" is a halving of mining rewards, which occurs approximately every 4 years, and the specific time depends on the block generation speed of the Bitcoin network. This will reduce the supply of Bitcoin, and it is expected that on April 23, 2024, the block reward will drop from 6.25 (BTC) to 3.125 (BTC).

In addition, the Fed's mid-year interest rate cut expectations have also fueled the surge in Bitcoin prices. A previous report released by Goldman Sachs showed that the Fed will begin to significantly cut interest rates in 2024, at least four times, with the first rate cut starting in June.

There are differences in the market outlook

However, after hitting an all-time high on March 14, Bitcoin has recently experienced a series of pullbacks, with the highest pullback exceeding 12%.

Market institutions also have different opinions on the future trend of the Bitcoin market.

Analysts at Bernstein, a well-known American investment management and research company, believe that the rise of Bitcoin has just begun and is expected to rise to $150,000 by the middle of next year.

“We modeled institutional flows into Bitcoin in our estimates to derive the price of Bitcoin. We estimate that $10 billion will flow into the Bitcoin market in 2024 and another $60 billion in 2025.”

After the Bitcoin ETF was approved by regulators in January this year, its inflows have exceeded $9.5 billion, further strengthening Bernstein's confidence in Bitcoin's steady rise to $150,000. In the past 30 days alone, Bitcoin ETFs have averaged $370 million in inflows per day.

“At this rate, in just 166 trading days remaining in 2024, Bitcoin ETF inflows will be higher than what we expect in 2025,” the analysts added.

However, JPMorgan believes that the upcoming Bitcoin halving event in April may have a serious negative impact on the profitability of Bitcoin miners.

The report warns that the price of Bitcoin could plummet to $42,000 per coin, a potential drop of more than 36% from its current price.

JPMorgan analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou estimates that the Bitcoin network’s computing power will drop by 20% after the halving, which will lead to an increase in the estimated production cost and base price of Bitcoin.

Michael Hartnett, chief investment strategist at Bank of America, said the market is showing characteristics of a bubble amid a record surge in the so-called "Magnificent Seven" in the technology sector and all-time highs for cryptocurrencies.

A listed company made a lot of money and plans to buy another $100 million

In this wave of Bitcoin market, some listed companies made huge profits.

Boyaa Interactive, a Hong Kong-listed company, announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on March 8 that on December 22, 2023, the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders approved the purchase authorization of cryptocurrencies with a total amount not exceeding US$100 million within 12 months. The company is now close to completing the investment layout and has achieved certain growth. According to the announcement, the company has purchased a total of 1,110 bitcoins at an average price of approximately US$41,790. A total of 14,855 Ethereum coins have been purchased at an average price of approximately US$2,777. About 8 million Tether coins have been purchased. According to the latest price, Boyaa Interactive's book profit is approximately US$39.13 million (approximately RMB 280 million).

Boyaa Interactive stated that in order to further promote the group's business development and layout in the Web3 field, the board of directors sought shareholder approval at the shareholders' meeting to further grant authorization to purchase potential cryptocurrencies, authorizing the board of directors to continue to purchase cryptocurrencies with a total amount not exceeding US$100 million.