Bitcoin Slides Under $103K as Volatility Triggers $450M in Crypto Liquidations
21 June 2025
A positive start for crypto markets quickly turned sour on Friday, as bitcoin fell sharply during the U.S. trading session, dropping from highs above $106,500 to below $103,000 in just a few hours. The swift reversal erased earlier gains and left traders cautious.
By press time, bitcoin had clawed back slightly to $103,200, though still down 1.2% over the past 24 hours.
Other major digital assets saw steeper losses. Ethereum’s ether (ETH) plunged 4.5% within 90 minutes, reaching a low of $2,372 amid a surge in trading volumes to nearly 800,000 ETH—around eight times the usual hourly average, according to CoinDesk data. Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Cardano (ADA) each declined between 3% and 5% over the same period.
The burst of volatility caught traders off guard, resulting in approximately $450 million in crypto derivatives liquidations across centralized exchanges, CoinGlass data showed. Of that, $387 million stemmed from long positions that had bet on rising prices.
Despite lingering macroeconomic and geopolitical concerns—including the ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran—there was no single clear trigger behind the sudden market drop. Meanwhile, traditional markets remained relatively stable, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 edging only slightly lower.
Bitcoin Remains Rangebound
Looking at the bigger picture, bitcoin continues to trade within a sideways band between $100,000 and $110,000, consolidating below its all-time highs.
“The mixed view of whether BTC will go above $110,000 again or drop into the $90,000 area doesn’t surprise me at all and underscores the overall indecision people and markets feel,” said James Toledano, chief operating officer at Unity Wallet.
“The present BTC stalemate reflects a market caught between bullish long-term sentiment and short-term macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty,” he added.
