The price of Bitcoin has dropped below the $60,000 mark as the halving event approaches. According to data from CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin (BTC) has seen a more than 3% decrease in price over the past 24 hours, currently trading at $59,800. Trading volumes for cryptocurrencies have also decreased by almost 12%, totaling $40 billion.

Traders are actively liquidating positions as evidenced by data from CoinGlass. In the last four hours, over $115 million worth of assets have been offloaded, with $96.70 million in long positions and the rest in short positions. The majority of liquidations took place on the OKX crypto exchange, totaling $43.81 million.

With the impending BTC halving just days away, traders are preparing for potential volatility in the market. The halving event will cut miner rewards by 50%, reducing the number of new coins entering the market. This has been viewed optimistically by some Bitcoin supporters.

Leading up to the halving, Bitcoin has experienced increased volatility not only due to the event itself but also because investors are withdrawing funds from popular Bitcoin ETFs. This follows remarks from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, stating that the central bank needs to see more progress on the inflation front before considering rate cuts.

Markus Thielen, head of research at 10x Research, highlights that crypto miners have been accumulating Bitcoins since January 2024 to create an imbalance between supply and demand. This accumulation has led to a sharp rise in BTC’s price, reaching historical highs in March.

Following the halving, digital asset mining companies will gradually sell off their accumulated coins, potentially putting downward pressure on cryptocurrency prices.

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