$176 Billion Wiped Out in Crypto Market: Are Bears Back

Bitcoin (BTC) has dropped sharply by 9% in the last 48 hours, falling to the $67,000 support level for the first time in two months. As a result of this correction, the total crypto market capitalization lost $176 billion in just two days. This situation triggered $1.5 billion in forced liquidations of long positions with excessive leverage. Cointelegraph.com reports on this. reports .

While US stock markets, particularly the Russell 2000 index, are showing strong growth, the correlation between Bitcoin and small-cap stocks officially broke on May 21. Deteriorating market sentiment was also fueled by $2.1 billion in net outflows from US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs between May 12 and May 20. Derivatives data indicates waning appetite among institutional investors.

The annualized premium rate on Bitcoin futures has remained below the 4% neutral threshold for over three months, confirming weak demand for bullish leverage. Meanwhile, MicroStrategy, led by Michael Saylor, halted its weekly Bitcoin purchases to repurchase convertible debt, sparking mixed reactions among investors.

Analysts believe that giants like Google (GOOG US) seeking to raise equity instead of debt signals shrinking market liquidity. According to JPMorgan research, 41 AI-related stocks now account for half of the S&P 500 market value. This means market concentration has reached its highest level in 150 years.