Bitcoin Hit $12k, Crashed to $10.5k–Is BTC’s Volatility Finally Back?

 
After months of price stagnation, it seems that Bitcoin’s famous volatility could be making a big comeback.

Over the course of last week, Bitcoin finally broke through the $8,800 to $9,800 range that it had been stuck in for much of May, June, and July. First BTC hit past $11,000, and then pushed over $12,000.
However, the push past the $12k appeared to trigger a massive selloff; the price crashed back down around $11k almost immediately; some data sources show that the price crashed as low as $10,500. At press time, the price appeared to have stabilized around $11,135.

Specifically, data form Bybt showed that the sudden price drop liquidated 72,422 positions worth roughly $1.4 billion across a number of major exchanges. Additionally, as reported by CoinDesk, shows that the price drop caused $144 million in sell liquidations and forced closure of long positions on BitMEX.

In the past 24 hours , 72,422 people were liquidated.
The largest single liquidation order occurred on Bitmex-BTC value $10M

— Bybt (@bybt_com)

Bitcoin’s previous runs past $10k have been followed by significant price crashes
The bull run up to $12k and the subsequent crash seem to be part of an ongoing pattern of
Twitter user @CryptoWhale pointed out that Bitcoin “has only held above $10,000 two times in history. Both times were followed by a 70-80% crash.”

has only held above $10,000 two times in history.

Both times were followed by a 70-80% crash.

— CryptoWhale 🐋 (@CryptoWhale)

Still, the recent upward price movement in Bitcoin appears to have re-energized traders in BTC markets. According to data from CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin has had a 24-hour trading volume level somewhere between $21 billion and $36.5 billion every day since Sunday, July 26th; previously, BTC’s trading volume had sat between $15 and $16 billion for weeks.
Additionally, BTC’s market cap has grown and shrunk almost in direct parallel with its price. When BTC reached $12,000, its market cap was roughly $220 billion. At press time (BTC = $11.1k), Bitcoin’s market cap was $205 billion. Previous to its bull run past $11,000, BTC’s market cap sat between $160 billion and $180 billion.