JPMorgan: Did the Collapse of Bitcoin and Altcoins Come from Crypto Investors?

Last week, the cryptocurrency market was shaken by a significant correction, with comments suggesting that local crypto investors were behind this crash. According to JPMorgan analysts, the sharp drop was primarily caused by the closing of positions in futures trading.

The team led by JPMorgan's senior analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou noted that this correction is related to a historical wave of liquidations. Interestingly, the analysts emphasized that traditional investors largely remained "spectators" during this process. According to their report, only 220 million dollars left Bitcoin ETFs, while 370 million dollars was withdrawn from Ethereum ETFs. This amount remains relatively limited compared to the total size of these funds.

Additionally, almost no liquidations were observed in CME Bitcoin futures, while a more pronounced unwinding occurred in CME Ethereum contracts. Analysts suggested that this movement could be interpreted as a risk-reduction maneuver by momentum-focused quant funds.

In perpetual futures trading, it was recorded that leverage ratios have significantly decreased. Open positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum were reported to have declined by approximately 40% in dollar terms. This indicates that the correction was primarily triggered by local crypto investors.

Last Friday, more than 20 billion dollars in leveraged positions were liquidated, causing over 1.5 million traders to incur losses. Currently, Bitcoin is trading around 108,500 dollars, having declined by approximately 2.5% in the last 24 hours. Investors are advised to be cautious at these levels.