The cryptocurrency market is facing notable selling pressure on Friday, September 26, influenced by derivatives positioning and considerable liquidations. Over the past day, the market has experienced close to $1 billion in liquidations, contributing notably to the current decline. This development takes place amid ongoing outflows from major crypto ETFs, with analysts indicating it reflects a waning interest from institutional investors. Bitcoin ETFs saw a withdrawal of $253.4 million, while Ethereum ETFs faced an exit of $251.2 million from the market. These movements suggest a cautious strategy from institutional investors, as the market braces for a substantial $17–23 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum options expiring today, with analysts expecting this to result in short-term volatility.
Riya Sehgal, highlighted the “massive $1 billion in liquidations” as the reason behind the sharp market decline, emphasizing that it “reflects intense long-side pressure.” She noted that the current short-term sentiment remains negative, as Bitcoin has fallen to the $108,700 level. Even with a small increase, the top cryptocurrency is still in the red. As of the latest update, Bitcoin is priced at $109,506, reflecting a 2 percent decline over the last 24 hours, accompanied by a trading volume of $69.36 billion. The digital asset showed fluctuations, trading between $108,713 and $112,221 during the session. The market capitalisation remains stable at $2.18 trillion, solidifying its position as the top digital asset worldwide. Sehgal highlighted that Bitcoin needs to regain the $113,000–$115,000 range to shift the short-term sentiment towards a more positive outlook.
On the other hand, Edul Patel, expressed a feeling of careful hopefulness. He noted that Bitcoin is showing early signs of recovery after finding support at $108,700, mentioning that “traders are cautiously optimistic ahead of Friday’s $22 billion options expiry.” Patel emphasized strong net inflows of $241 million into Bitcoin ETFs, which he believes could help in regaining momentum. “At this point, it’s crucial for bulls to protect the $110,000 level to keep the upward momentum going, as fresh support is emerging around $107,500,” he mentioned. Meanwhile, Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, faced some downward pressure, dropping below the $4,000 threshold. After multiple rejections in the $4,500–$4,600 range, the asset seems to be moving towards potential further consolidation. At the latest update, ETH was priced at $3,942, reflecting a decline of 1.66 percent over the last 24 hours, with intraday fluctuations noted between $3,829 and $4,053.
The broader altcoin market mirrored the ongoing weak sentiment, as Story continued its decline, emerging as the day’s most notable underperformer with an astonishing 28 percent drop. Among the significant decliners were Astar, Avalanche, Flare, ether.fi, 0G, Aethir, Immutable, Zcash, Pudgy Penguins, Quant, NEAR Protocol, Jupiter, SPX6900, BNB, Aptos, Injective, and Solana—all experiencing drops of up to 15 percent. Amid the widespread downturn, some altcoins have managed to stand out. OKB, Kaspa, Mantle, Cronos, Tether Gold, and PAX Gold stood out as notable gainers, experiencing increases of up to 7 percent.