Today's price of Bitcoin: The largest cryptocurrency token falls below $100,000 and enters a bear market; prices of Ether and Solana drop as much as 5%

After previously falling to $99,010.06, its lowest level since mid-June, Bitcoin prices were 3.7% lower at $101,822. The price of Solana dropped 3.16% to $157.66, while the price of Ethereum fell 6.76% to $3,331.65. Dogecoin dropped 1.47% to $0.165, while XRP dropped 3.16% to $2.24.

Due to persistent selling pressure in the spot market, Bitcoin prices dropped precipitously on Wednesday, momentarily falling below $100,000. As investor sentiment was negatively impacted by growing worries about stretched valuations, the drop in cryptocurrency prices reflected a wider sell-off in riskier assets.

The price of Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency in the world, fell 3.7% to $101,822 after previously falling to $99,010.06, its lowest point since mid-June. The price of Solana dropped 3.16% to $157.66, while the price of Ethereum fell 6.76% to $3,331.65. Dogecoin dropped 1.47% to $0.165, while XRP dropped 3.16% to $2.24.

After dropping more than 20% from its all-time high of $126,186 in early October, the price of bitcoin has officially entered bear market territory.

$1.3 billion spree of liquidation

Data from analytics company CoinGlass revealed that over $1.27 billion in leveraged cryptocurrency holdings were liquidated earlier this week, which coincided with the most recent drop in Bitcoin prices. Long bets were involved in the majority of these liquidations because traders who wagered on sustained price increases suffered severe losses.

Compared to the $19 billion in forced unwinds witnessed during last month's meltdown, roughly $2 billion in cryptocurrency positions were lost over the course of the last 24 hours. According to Bloomberg, open interest in Bitcoin futures is still low, but options traders are increasingly placing bets on additional declines using put contracts aimed at the $80,000 mark.

Wider Market Sell-Off

Fears of an artificial intelligence-driven bubble in equity prices led to significant selling, and the decline in the price of bitcoin also corresponded with a general risk-off mood throughout international markets.

Following the CEOs of several significant Wall Street banks' warnings of a possible near-term correction, the US stock market plummeted on Tuesday. The S&P 500 dropped 80.42 points, or 1.17%, to 6,771.55, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 251.44 points, or 0.53%, to 47,085.24. At 23,348.64, the Nasdaq Composite closed 486.09 points, or 2.04%, lower.

Asian markets did the same, with benchmark indices in South Korea and Japan both declining by almost 5%.