Bitcoin falls 4% to $102k causing $670M in liquidations after weekend rally to $106k

Snapshot: Bitcoin rocketed past $106k late Sunday before surrendering nearly 4% by Monday morning. More than $670 million in crypto futures were liquidated in the swing. Even so, spot-BTC exchange-traded funds attracted $608 million last week, hinting at a resilient institutional bid.

Inside the roller coaster

At 22.00 UTC on 18 May, a burst of short covering catapulted Bitcoin to $106,980, its highest price since February. The rally lasted less than five hours. By 02:00 UTC, take-profit orders and thin weekend liquidity reversed the entire move, plunging the price toward $103,000. An additional slide to $102,300 materialised before bids stabilised the market around breakfast time in London, around $103,200.

CoinGlass data shows that the violent round-trip triggered $670 million in forced liquidations across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Dogecoin futures. Roughly $465 million of long positions were wiped out, while $224 million of shorts were squeezed during the initial surge.

The data underlines how lightly traded weekend order books can magnify every stop-run, as Sunday saw Binance’s lowest trading volume of the year.

While derivatives traders nursed losses, spot-Bitcoin ETFs quietly raked in $607 million net over the week ending 18 May. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust accounted for $839 million, offset by outflows from smaller products.

Corporate treasuries joined the accumulation. Strategy, the US-listed software-to-Bitcoin vehicle, disclosed the purchase of 13,390 BTC on Monday, spending about $1.3 billion and lifting its reserves to 568,840 BTC.

Concurrently, open interest on exchanges has soared to a year-to-date high of $70 billion, indicating additional leverage is now entering the market, similar to the second leg of the 2021 bull run.

Macro clouds gather

Macro headlines added friction to the crypto rally. Moody’s cut its outlook on US sovereign debt, pushing the 30-year Treasury yield back above 5% and reviving concerns about fiscal risk.

Analysts at research firm Block Scholes told Reuters,

“The most recent price action may have begun to validate the view that Bitcoin is not just the 501st company in the SPX.”

Martin Leinweber from MarketVector Indexes added,

“The damage has been done in terms of trust towards the U.S. and dollar assets … but you can’t (diversify) overnight.”

The CEO of Stocktwits added on X,

“You’re watching a political-economic realignment where Bitcoin is the release valve.

Trump, tariffs, Treasury chaos it’s all part of the shift.”

Why It Matters

• Sentiment barometer: Every probe above $100k offers a real-time gauge of risk appetite after April’s halving.
• Structural tailwinds: ETF inflows and corporate balance-sheet exposure create a buy-the-dip reflex that can truncate pull-backs.
• Liquidity minefield: Weekend trading remains a danger zone for leveraged players, with thin books exaggerating both squeezes and crashes.

What to Watch Next

1. Whether spot-ETF inflows persist above $500 million per week, a slowdown could test support at $100k.
2. The open interest build up in perpetual futures. Rising leverage may set the stage for another squeeze.
3. Further US fiscal headlines. Renewed stress in the bond market could amplify volatility across risk assets.

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