On Friday, November 26, Bitcoin slipped below the $55,000 mark. The decline over the last 24 hours was 5.9%, according to CoinGecko.
The chart below shows a sharp correction amid a surge in trading volumes. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $55,200.
Following Bitcoin, all top-10 cryptocurrencies by market cap moved into the red, except for USDT:
In the futures market, liquidations over the last 24 hours totaled were liquidated positions worth $161.94 million, and in the last hour — $90.97 million.
Total market capitalization stands at $2.56 trillion, Bitcoin’s dominance at 40.3% (data from CoinGecko).
Not all members of the crypto community were unsettled by the correction. Analyst Michaël van de Poppe called the current price action ‘beautiful’.
Beautiful price action #Bitcoin. I like it.
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) November 26, 2021
He noted that the decline is not limited to the crypto market. In his view, PlanB’s idea of Bitcoin reaching $98,000 “no longer exists”.
The markets are dropping down heavily, not only #crypto, but also equities are dropping.
The Plan B idea of $98K is gone.
The realization of a lengthening cycle is there.
We’re still fine, even if we drop some more.
Just a longer cycle for #Bitcoin.
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) November 26, 2021
On November 26, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases reported detection of a new coronavirus variant in South Africa. The World Health Organization will hold a special meeting on Friday to discuss this issue and its implications for vaccination and treatment, according to CNBC.
Following the emergence of the variant, the United Kingdom and Israel halted air travel with several African countries. Markets reacted to the news from South Africa: the European STOXX Europe 600 fell 3.88%, China’s CSI 300 was down 0.74% at close, the S&P 500 futures were down 1.82%. The MOEX Russia index fell 2.94%.
The slide in Bitcoin may also be tied to options expiry on November 26 totaling nearly $3 billion. For most expiring options, the strike is above Bitcoin’s all-time high of $69,000.
Ready for the big expiry tomorrow?
Up to $2.6 billion in notional Open Interest, Bitcoin has recently broken upwards through the measured Max pain of $58k. With a P/C ratio of 0.42, option traders are buying a significant amount of calls against puts, showing bullish sentiment. pic.twitter.com/3lXWE00e8P— Deribit (@DeribitExchange) November 25, 2021
Earlier, Huobi analysts described PlanB’s Stock-to-Flow model invalid. Later, the author admitted that the price of digital gold would not reach $98,000 by the end of November. However, the target of $100,000 remains a realistic possibility.
As reported, on November 25 the media noted that options markets indicate an increase in bearish sentiment ahead of the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting.
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