Crypto SELLOFF: Bitcoin Dips Below $116K as $400M of Longs Get Wiped Out
On Aug 19 the crypto market slid again. Bitcoin hovered around $115.7K (market cap $2.29T, daily volume $21.4B) after slipping from recent highs. Ether traded near $4,276, down ~1.1% on the day and ~6.8% for the week. XRP was at $3.03 (daily volume $5.0B), slightly up intraday but notably down over the week and month. Binance Coin and Solana showed mixed moves; Dogecoin weakened further. Stablecoins (USDT/USDC) held their pegs.
CoinDCX research flagged a bearish tone: BTC tested lows near $114.7K for a second day, ETH remains above $4.2K but the broader market looks fragile. Some tokens bucked the trend (e.g., AB, POL, OKB), while others plunged (Pump.fun, Injective, Arbitrum).
The crash triggered big selling: roughly $127.7M of BTC-ETF and $196.6M of ETH-ETF positions were sold, and total liquidations topped ~$400M in 24 hours, with over $300M in longs closed. SEC delays on XRP ETF approvals added regulatory pressure. On-chain notes: Ethereum balances on centralized exchanges fell to a 9-year low, while large holders (BitMine) now hold big ETH stacks.
What this means
Short-term: expect high volatility and corrective moves; leveraged traders face risk of more liquidations. Medium-term: ETF flows and on-chain supply shifts will remain key — institutional demand can stabilise prices, but news and liquidations can quickly reverse sentiment.
Source & credit: GoodReturns (Madhulika Pandey), Aug 19, 2025.
