Bitcoin Plunges Below $84,000 as $700 Million in Crypto Liquidations Triggered by Oil Surge

LONDON/SINGAPORE, Oct 7 (The Wiregazette) – Cryptocurrencies fell sharply on Wednesday as a surge in oil prices and rising bond yields sparked a broad liquidation event that erased $100 billion from the total crypto market capitalization within 24 hours.

Bitcoin slid as much as 3.2% to an intraday low of $82,776.30 before recovering to trade near $83,200, according to CoinDesk data. The largest cryptocurrency opened the session at $85,543.66. Ether dropped 5% to $2,573, while XRP, Solana and Dogecoin all lost more than 4%.

The selling accelerated as leveraged bets were unwound. CoinGlass data showed $714 million in crypto positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, with 124,276 traders affected. The largest single liquidation was a $26.64 million Ether position on Binance. Other reports cited slightly lower figures: $650 million (Bloomberg) and $547 million (CoinDesk), reflecting different measurement windows.

Of the daily total, $527 million — or 86.69% — occurred within the final 12 hours, according to Finbold, with Ether traders accounting for $209.89 million of losses and Bitcoin traders $138.88 million.

**Macro Backdrop Intensifies Selling**

The crypto rout coincided with a broader risk-off move in traditional markets. Brent crude rose above $101 a barrel after Iran stepped up attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, according to CoinDesk. The 10-year US Treasury yield climbed above 5.3%, while the 30-year yield reached 5.70%, its highest level since 2002, the Economic Times reported. The US Dollar Index hit 102.50, its highest since March 2025.

US stocks edged lower, with the S&P 500 falling 0.59% and the Nasdaq losing 0.71%. Gold declined 1.53%.

“The dip in crypto prices serves as a leverage flush instead of a downward trend, stemming from crowded bets on higher prices being forced out, with most of the liquidations coming from long positions,” said Dan Khus, chief analyst at LVRG Research, in comments reported by Bloomberg and CoinDesk.

**Altcoins and Layer-2 Tokens Hit Hard**

The damage was deeper among smaller tokens. The CoinDesk 80, a broad index, lost nearly 4% over 24 hours. DeFi tokens fell almost 6%, and memecoin indices tumbled about 5%.

Ethereum layer-2 network tokens were the worst performers. Optimism’s OP fell 10%, Mantle lost nearly 10%, and Arbitrum dropped 7%, according to CoinDesk. The declines came after Pudgy Penguins’ Abstract became the second Ethereum layer-2 network to shut down in a week. Solana held up slightly better, down about 1%, but its ecosystem tokens such as Jito and Jupiter fell 6% to 8%.

**Key Support Levels in Focus**

Analysts said Bitcoin remains in a bullish stair-step pattern that has held since July, provided support near $83,000 holds.

“After moving above $81,500, Bitcoin established a new range of roughly 83,000-87,000. If $83,000 holds, it would show that sellers cannot force the price back into its previous trading band,” Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Indian exchange Giottus, told CoinDesk.

A sustained break below $82,000 to $83,000 would signal the September breakout has failed and could trigger a drop toward $80,000 to $81,500, he added.

Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, put support near $84,000 and warned that a break below that level would open the door to $80,000.

“If we lose $83,000 it is possible we revisit the $78,000 region for Bitcoin which should provide some support,” said Pratik Kala, portfolio manager at Apollo Crypto, as reported by Bloomberg.

Demand from US spot Bitcoin ETFs had held up going into the drop, with $119 million in net inflows on Tuesday, according to SoSoValue, marking the fourth day of inflows in five sessions.

Traders are now watching the release of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting minutes later Wednesday for clues on the rate path. “A hawkish read could lift yields and the US dollar, keeping pressure on risk assets,” said Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets.

Despite the selloff, some analysts urged buying the dip. On-chain analyst Ali Martinez posted on X that the decline was temporary, pointing to significant “whale” accumulation and a support zone between $83,300 and $84,600, with a potential breakout above $86,700 and subsequent rally to about $105,000.

Perpetual funding rates for Bitcoin and Ether have turned slightly negative, with shorts paying longs, and cumulative volume delta data shows sellers hitting bids with market orders, indicating bearish positioning in the derivatives market. Futures open interest slipped only 1% while volume rose 16%, suggesting repositioning rather than outright bearish bets.