Bitcoin traded at $108,733.66 at press time, declining 2% intraday, pushed by commerce tensions and leverage unwind.

Waning demand additionally contributed to the correction. US-traded spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded roughly $104 million in web outflows on Oct. 15, in accordance with Farside Traders’ information, eradicating latest help for spot bids.

Main altcoins tracked Bitcoin’s decline, with Ethereum falling 1% to $3,949.92 and Solana dropping 1.85% to $190.21.

BNB and XRP every declined 1% and 1.25% respectively, buying and selling at $1,151.47 and $2.37. Cardano and Dogecoin posted steeper losses of 1.5% and 1.6%, reaching $0.6582 and $0.1929.

Macro headwinds and liquidations

The outflows coincided with broader risk-asset weak point stemming from escalating US-China commerce tensions over rare-earth export controls.

China expanded its rare-earth export restrictions this week, concentrating on important inputs for the semiconductor, protection, and electronics manufacturing industries.

The brand new controls carry extraterritorial attain, prompting Washington officers to warn of accelerated financial “decoupling” between the 2 nations.

These headlines pushed the value under the vary between $111,000 and $110,000, triggering a cascade of liquidations in Bitcoin futures markets.

Almost $500 million in lengthy positions confronted liquidation over 24 hours, with $405 million of this quantity occurring in the latest buying and selling session alone, in accordance with Coinglass information.

Markets adopted a risk-averse stance as headlines highlighted new port-fee measures affecting US vessels and coordinated G7 efforts to counter China’s export restrictions.

Amid this backdrop, gold reached a brand new all-time excessive of $4,250, reflecting the flight-to-safety sentiment that failed to profit Bitcoin regardless of its positioning as a hedge towards forex debasement.

Merchants now monitor the $107,000-$110,000 technical vary for Bitcoin’s subsequent directional transfer.

A clear break under this help zone dangers triggering further liquidation-driven promoting stress because the crypto navigates the intersection of decreased institutional demand and heightened geopolitical uncertainty.