Bitcoin holds above $76,000 as $1.56B liquidations follow reported Binance hack
In brief
- Bitcoin fell as low as $76,320 per TradingView, then traded above $77,000 Friday.
- Crypto liquidations reached $1.56 billion over 24 hours, including $1.31 billion in longs, per CoinGlass.
- Binance called the attack "complex" and said SAFU will cover all user losses.
- Alphabet and Intel sell-offs added macro pressure on crypto markets.
- Cointelegraph's analysis flags a Bollinger Band close and RSI divergence as possible rebound signals.
Binance says user losses are covered
Cointelegraph described it as a $6.3 billion hack of Binance, which it called the largest crypto exchange. That figure comes from the outlet's reporting (the Binance statement quoted so far doesn't put a number on it). In its latest update on X, Binance said the attack was "complex" and reported more than one security breach during the incident.
"We are still gathering the facts, and will share more directly as we have them"
The exchange also said all user losses would be covered from its SAFU fund and other company resources. Downside momentum cooled after that, according to Cointelegraph.
Longs took the brunt.
CoinGlass data showed long positions made up $1.31 billion of the liquidations.
Tech earnings added pressure
The hack didn't land in a vacuum. US stock markets fell on Thursday after tech earnings came in below expectations, and that put more macro pressure on crypto. Alphabet missed its earnings and revenue targets on Wednesday, and GOOGL fell 13% to $282 (its lowest level since April). Intel shares fell 26% premarket on Friday because the company's outlook was weaker than expected, even though its Q3 revenue and earnings beat estimates. Intel said it expects Q4 sales of $15 billion to $16 billion, against analyst projections of $17 billion to $18 billion.
What Cointelegraph's indicators show
Cointelegraph's technical read points to stretched conditions. On lower timeframes, BTC price metrics went back to levels last seen in late June, when BTC/USD hit multiyear lows near $57,000.
On Thursday, Bitcoin closed below the lower Bollinger Band for the first time since June 25. That means price was more than two standard deviations below its 20-day simple moving average, which stood at $81,324. Bollinger Bands don't give buy or sell signals, the outlet noted, but a close below the lower band can suggest a mean reversion is due.
The daily relative strength index (RSI) dropped to 34.7 on Friday, its lowest reading since June 30. The four-hour chart tells a different story. There, RSI made a higher swing low while BTC/USD made a lower low (a bullish divergence, in Cointelegraph's description), and the outlet said such divergences can signal weakening seller control and a possible local trend change.
Frequently asked questions
What does a close below the lower Bollinger Band mean for Bitcoin?
A close below the lower Bollinger Band means price was more than two standard deviations below its 20-day simple moving average, which stood at $81,324 for Bitcoin. Bitcoin did this on Thursday for the first time since June 25. Cointelegraph noted that Bollinger Bands don't give buy or sell signals, but a close below the lower band can suggest a mean reversion is due.
How did Binance respond to the hack?
In an update on X, Binance called the attack "complex" and reported more than one security breach during the incident. The exchange said all user losses would be covered from its SAFU fund and other company resources. According to Cointelegraph, downside momentum cooled after that statement.
