Leveraged Liquidations Underscore Bitcoin’s Equity Sensitivity, Citi Says

A wave of leveraged long liquidations has exposed bitcoin’s (BTC) equity sensitivity, according to Wall Street bank Citigroup.

The bank said worsening U.S.-China trade tensions triggered a sharp futures selloff on Friday that spilled into crypto, underscoring its volatility and correlation with equities.

Both crypto and stock markets have since clawed back some losses, the report noted. The world's largest cryptocurrency was trading around $111,700 at publication time.

A violent flash crash hit crypto markets on Friday and erased more than $500 billion in value and forced nearly $20 billion in liquidations across derivatives platforms. Bitcoin dropped as much as 13% in an hour, before bottoming near $102,000.

Citi said exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows remained resilient, likely driven by newer, less levered investors, and it doesn’t expect the liquidations to derail demand.

Bitcoin and ether remain near September levels, and the bank kept its 12-month targets of $181,000 for BTC and $5,400 for ETH, with year-end forecasts of $133,000 and $4,500.

Citi said sustained ETF flows support the base case, while the bear case depends on equity market weakness.

Read more: Bitcoin ETF Inflows Poised to Smash Records in Q4, Says Crypto Asset Manager Bitwise