Bitcoin's sharp 5% decline to $60k, causing over $500m in liquidations with $450m of it in long positions, can be attributed to several factors:

⚫ The crypto market, NASDAQ, Dow Jones, Russell 2000, and S&P 500 all closed negatively amid growing concerns over the Middle East conflict regarding Iran and Israel.

⚫ U.S. JOLTs job vacancies increased to 8.04m, higher than the expected 7.65m.

⚫ U.S. ISM manufacturing PMI was at 47.2%, its biggest drop since May 2023, lower than the expected 47.5%, contracting for its sixth straight month.

⚫ Fed Chair Jerome Powell said there was no urgency to cut rates aggressively.

Meanwhile, gold and silver rose by roughly 1% each.