Bitcoin traded at below $55,000, a six-week low on Friday as massive liquidations that occurred within an hour wiped out more than $300 million in crypto value.
Bitcoin traded above $59,000 on Thursday and was looking to aim higher before crashing to below $55,000 as other cryptocurrencies experienced massive selloffs. Ethereum dropped about 5% to below $4,100.
Liquidations were heavy on other tokens such as Solana, Dogecoin, Polkadot, Litecoin, Ripple, CRO, and Avalanche, which shed between 9% and 15% in total over the last 24 hours.
The liquidations in crypto follow rising concerns over a new Covid-19 variant, B.1.1.529, in South Africa, with global health bodies announcing fresh restrictions on travelers.
BTCUSD is down -7.01%, ETHUSD is down -9.98%.
