Bitcoin slid to $67,000 and closed in the red for a third straight day. Hyperliquid whales flipped back to net long while retail demand weakened, and $1 billion in crypto positions were liquidated over 24 hours.
Bitcoin closed in the red for the third consecutive day, with its price sliding to $67,000. Meanwhile, Hyperliquid whales turned back to the net long after two weeks of shorting BTC, according to AMBCrypto.
Hyperliquid whales return to net long
The daily mean of net long and net short grew from -1700 BTC on 8th November to around 900 BTC at press time. This seemed to imply that whales have been buying the dip below $70,000.
Whales went long during the rally that started in August and subsequently sold the top. However, that does not guarantee they will be right again.
Retail traders show signs of capitulation
On the other side, retail traders have been showing signs of capitulation. BTC's monthly change in Retail Investor Demand declined to around -10% after a sharp rise to over 17% as the price approached $80,000.
That reading is the weakest since March, when Hyperliquid whales were also net short on BTC. Based on historical patterns, AMBCrypto says prices tend to reverse when retailers capitulate, though the contrarian signal does not always work.
Leverage flush clears Binance positions
Bitcoin's open interest on Binance fell to $8.30 billion from $9.60 billion in November alone, its lowest level since 18th August.
The slide below $68,000 triggered more long liquidations. Over the past 24 hours, $1 billion was wiped out in crypto, with longs accounting for $863.3 million against $144.2 million in shorts.
If BTC stabilizes while open interest stays at these levels, a rebound would be driven more by spot demand than leverage. Even so, a sustainable recovery would need capital inflows through ETFs and spot buying, among others.
Source: AMBCrypto
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