A popular cryptocurrency analyst known for his YouTube channel, CryptosRUs, issued a call for calm after Bitcoin saw a steep price decline over the weekend.
On Dec. 11, Bitcoin (BTC) fell from around $44,000 down to $40,000, a drop of nearly 10% in a short period. It has since rebounded slightly to around $42,000 at the time of this writing.
According to the analyst, a few potential factors are behind this sudden fall. One is an upcoming meeting between major central banks, such as the European Central Bank, to discuss monetary policy and whether more interest rate hikes are needed to curb inflation.
“This could be affecting things a little bit,” said the analyst, though he noted the Federal Reserve seems content with current policy in the United States.
According to the analyst, more impactful were several hundred million dollars’ worth of liquidations in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency-leveraged positions. He explained, “When things are good, everyone makes a ton of money with leverage. When things are bad, many people lose a lot of money with leverage.”
The analyst suggested that liquidations triggered a “long squeeze,” forcing the price of Bitcoin down very rapidly as overleveraged long positions were wiped out, causing further sell-offs.
However, he also urged calm and a long-term perspective following this drop, even with Bitcoin falling close to 10% from its price a day earlier. He pointed out that Bitcoin has still increased substantially in a short timeframe. Also, it is expected to see retracements of 20-30% or even more during volatile crypto bull cycles.
“Sometimes retracements happen. Sometimes whales will do their whalish things,” he said, referring to large individual holders who can influence prices through the sheer size of the capital that they control. He also speculated that exchanges themselves may be involved.
It may be exchanges wanting to liquidate the longs because they want to collect their fees.
CryptosRUs
Ultimately, the analyst emphasized dollar cost averaging as the strategy investors should stick to despite price fluctuations. “You gotta see these dips as buying opportunities,” he encouraged viewers. By steadily accumulating during market drops, investors are poised to benefit the most during the next upcycle.
