Ethereum Maintains Bearish Bias as Millions Worth of Leveraged Positions Get Liquidated on Monday Morning
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Ethereum (ETH) recorded a significantly volatile session on Monday, as most of the broader market recorded a sharp correction. The second-largest cryptocurrency shed over $200 this morning to record a two-day low at $3,763.
That said, the relatively light market movements caused massive liquidations for ETH traders. According to analytics platform Coinglass, $12.69 million worth of Ether futures got liquidated on Monday morning alone, double the $6 million liquidations recorded by Bitcoin within the same period.
The analytics provider also showed that of the total liquidations, $11.89 million (92%) emanated from leveraged long traders or those borrowing from exchanges to bet on higher Ether prices. Coinglass also revealed that 50% of all liquidations took place on OKEx, over $4.93 million in liquidations.
Liquidations typically occur when an exchange or trading platform forcefully closes a trader’s leveraged position as a safety mechanism due to a partial or total loss of the trader’s initial margin. Liquidations occur in futures trading, which only tracks the price of the underlying asset unlike spot trading, where traders purchase and own the actual asset.
Overall, the cryptocurrency market recorded $40 million in liquidations on Monday morning, bringing the total liquidations over the past 24 hours to $152 million.
Interestingly, the crypto market slide in the Asian session coincides with the report of bond defaults and weakening privatization of real estate in China.
Key Ethereum Levels to Watch — December 20
Along with most of the market, Ethereum continues to suffer intense bearish pressure as it slipped below the critical $3,800 support. The crypto giant lacked the bullish fortitude to sustain a breach above the descending trendline at $4,000 yesterday, following a goodish rebound from the $3,695 low on Friday.
Despite maintaining an overall bearish momentum, ETH has fallen into a subtle sideways pattern in the last few days, as global market uncertainty prevails. As such, it remains difficult to give a clear-cut projection for the crypto asset. Nonetheless, a sustained break above the descending trendline could ease the bearish pressure on Ether, allowing bullish momentum to seep into the market again.
Meanwhile, my resistance levels are $3,900, $4,000, and $4,100, and my support levels are $3,800, $3,700, and $3,600.
Total Market Capitalization: $2.14 trillion
Ethereum Market Capitalization: $452.4 billion
Ethereum Dominance: 21.1%
Market Rank: #2
