Crypto Market Plummets Amid Concerns
On December 15th, the cryptocurrency market experienced a significant downturn as Bitcoin (BTC) dropped below $86,500. This decline triggered a ripple effect, causing altcoins to follow suit and resulting in a new wave of liquidations.
The abrupt change wiped out earlier gains for the day, pushing market sentiment further into negative territory. Traders were on edge, anticipating a volatile week ahead with key U.S. macroeconomic indicators looming.
At this point, Bitcoin was trading around $86,300, reflecting a roughly 3% decrease in just 24 hours. Ether (ETH) decreased by about 3.7%, settling at $2,960. Meanwhile, XRP slid by over 4% to roughly $1.90, as per CoinGecko.
The overall market capitalization for cryptocurrencies was hovering near $3 trillion, with most major tokens facing selling pressure.
As prices dropped, liquidations intensified. According to analysis from CoinGlass, over $537 million in cryptocurrency positions vanished within the last day, largely from long positions—approximately $450 million. Notably, Bitcoin alone accounted for over $115 million, with Ether following closely at over $110 million.
As the prices fell, social media became a storm of accusations regarding market manipulation.
The on-chain analysis account DeFiTracer claimed in a post that “Binance and Wintermute” were involved in dumping significant amounts of Bitcoin, suggesting that more than $100 million in long positions were liquidated within minutes, labeling the situation as “pure manipulation.”
Another post by CryptoNobler asserted that exchanges and funds were actively offloading Bitcoin, citing major BTC outflows from Binance, Coinbase, Wintermute, and others.
Traders were split; some attributed the drop to manipulation by exchanges and market makers, while others believed it was simply a result of regular liquidity flows and user-driven selling.
However, a recent round table conference raised doubts about whether Binance or Wintermute were indeed actively selling Bitcoin during this tumultuous period.
Additionally, another macro theme that garnered interest was Japan’s central bank indicating a gradual move away from years of highly supportive monetary policy.
On December 15th, discussions surfaced, noting that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) might begin selling some of its exchange-traded fund (ETF) holdings as soon as January, hinting at a cautious withdrawal from the market’s abnormal support.
Reports suggest that Japanese officials are considering an ultra-slow pace of around 330 billion yen (approximately $2.1 million to $2.3 million) per year for unwinding ETF holdings, aiming to avoid shocking the market.
