Bitcoin Regains Footing Near $98,000 as Liquidations Close in on $500M

Bitcoin clawed back losses during weekend trading after falling over $2,000 on Saturday, catching traders unawares and triggering close to $500 million in liquidations.

The world’s largest digital asset is trading just below $98,000 after falling to a three-day low of $95,800, according to CoinGecko data.

The dip sent long liquidations soaring to an 11-day high above $344 million while shorts coughed up around 136 million, CoinGlass data shows.

Analysts expect much of the same witnessed over the last two weeks, with demand from retail and institutional investors likely unaffected by intraday swings.

“As we continue to see strong demand for Bitcoin alongside further easing of monetary policy by global central banks, prices are likely to remain supported as we approach the end of the year,” QCP Capital wrote in a note last week. 

Investor sentiment continues to be bolstered by favorable tailwinds stemming from the incoming Donald Trump administration, with the President-elect having vowed to drive a crypto agenda.

Wall Street’s top cop, the Securities and Exchange Commission, will also have a change of guard following Trump’s inauguration on January 20. 

Chair Gary Gensler announced his decision to resign from the post last week after years of backlash from the crypto community for what they termed as a heavy-handed approach to regulation through litigation.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to fire Gensler if elected to the Whitehouse, much to the applaud of a packed crowd during the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville in July.

Now, Trump will get to choose a new agency head, which has spurned speculation of an industry-favorable pick, perceived by many to take a lighter touch on digital assets.

That optimism has spread to other assets, including XRP, which lept to a three-year high at $1.59 on Friday as speculation grew that the SEC would withdraw its case against the asset’s steward, Ripple Labs.

There’s also soaring demand for U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, particularly from BlackRock, which continues to top the list among 11 other rivals in inflows and trading volume.

Options trading on some of those products are also helping to drive price volatility, analysts previously told Decrypt, with much of the activity focused on further upside in coming months.