CryptoQuant Analyst: Bitcoin Selloff Driven by Long Liquidations Exceeding $205M Per Hour

Bitcoin's "advanced sentiment index" dropped to 44.9% from around 80% between Jan. 13-15, breaking below the 50% neutral threshold as the price retreated from near $97,000, CryptoQuant analyst Axel wrote on Jan. 19. During the early-morning decline, hourly liquidations exceeded $205 million and the spot oscillator spiked to +97.96%, indicating liquidations were concentrated almost entirely in long positions. Axel described the pattern as a classic "crash-and-deleverage" move in an overheated market, adding that a continued drop in liquidation volumes over the next few hours would indicate the deleveraging phase is nearing completion.