- Bitcoin swung hard over the weekend. It fell to about $73,761 late Sunday, its lowest level since August, before recovering to trade above $75,000, CoinDesk reported, while ether dropped below $2,100 before bouncing to $2,144.
- Leverage was punished. More than $1 billion in crypto positions were liquidated in 24 hours, according to CoinGlass, and $913 million of that came from long bets that prices would rise. Ether saw $448 million in liquidations, nearly double bitcoin’s $272 million.
- Two headlines drove the risk-off move. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admitted to an affair with a woman U.S. officials believe was spying for China, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said negotiations with Iran had stalled, calling Iranian demands “outrageous.”
- Crypto traders are bracing for a weak Nvidia open. NVDAX, the tokenized Nvidia stock on xStock, fell 3.55% to $180.42 in 24 hours, below Nvidia’s $186.64 Friday close on Nasdaq, a gap that signals traders expect a sharper drop when U.S. stocks open Monday.
What Happened?
Crypto, the only major market open over the weekend, became the first venue to price two uncomfortable headlines. Bitcoin fell to about $73,761 late Sunday, its lowest point since August, before rebounding above $75,000, according to CoinDesk data, and ether crashed below $2,100 before recovering to $2,144. The swings forced more than $1 billion of leveraged positions to be liquidated in 24 hours, per CoinGlass, with most of it in roughly the last six hours. Longs accounted for $913 million of the total, and the single largest liquidation order was a $48 million ether position. The trigger was Nvidia’s disclosure that its board opened an independent investigation after reports that CEO Jensen Huang had a relationship with a businesswoman U.S. intelligence believes passed information to Beijing, alongside Rubio’s comment that talks with Iran had failed to make progress.
Why It Matters?
Nvidia sits at the center of the AI boom that has fueled risk-taking across markets, including crypto, so a governance shock at the largest stock by market value spills directly into digital assets. The Nasdaq already fell nearly 5% last week, extending a four-week losing streak, as investors questioned the durability of the AI trade, CoinDesk noted. Iran matters because higher Middle East tension tends to lift oil prices and drive risk aversion, and bitcoin has more often than not declined during oil rallies since the Iran war began in March. Matt Maley of Miller Tabak + Co. told CNBC that bitcoin’s renewed weakness “is a concern” and that a break below $75,000 would give it a key lower low.
What’s Next?
The direction now hinges on how Wall Street opens Monday on the Nvidia news and Iran tensions. On the chart, bitcoin is stuck between 200-day average support near $73,150 and 100-day average resistance at $77,430, CoinDesk said. Maley told CNBC it would take a drop below the 200-day moving average around $73,000 “before it raised any serious warning flags.” Watch the Nvidia cash open against the NVDAX discount and any headlines on U.S.-Iran talks.
