Bitcoin (BTC) hit fresh multi-month lows on May 1 as market nerves cost traders half a billion dollars.

BTC price rout approaches $57,000

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price losses mounting during the Asia session, BTC/USD hitting $57,082 on Bitstamp.

This marked the pair’s lowest levels since February and took Q2 losses to more than 20%.

Hawkish fiscal policy moves from United States treasury secretary Janet Yellen, combined with a legal judgment against crypto exchange Binance and founder Changpeng Zhao, contributed to worsening sentiment across crypto.

Previously, Cointelegraph reported on assumptions that liquidity would be boosted by Yellen, who ultimately took steps to achieve the opposite — a setback for risk assets across the board.

“Yellen deciding to pull liquidity from the market, instead of drawing down on reserves to fuel liquidity higher,” financial commentator Tedtalksmacro wrote in part of a reaction on X (formerly Twitter).

“Risk appetite takes a hit.”

Even before the downside gathered speed, warnings were in place for Bitcoin and altcoins, with markets treading water since BTC/USD hitting all-time highs in mid-March.

Now, key support levels were fading, with neither $60,000 nor short-term holder realized price offering bulls consolation any longer.

“If you must panic, at least wait for the almost two-month old support to breakdown first,” popular trader and analyst Rekt Capital told X subscribers the day prior.

Examining the latest events, Charles Edwards, founder of quantitative Bitcoin and digital asset fund Capriole Investments, described what he considered to be two paths forward for BTC price trajectory.

“‘Sell in May and go away.’ This looks like distribution to me,” he summarized in an X post.

“As long as we trade below $61.5K, scenario (1) is technically more likely. A strong reclaim of $61.5K would give some hopes to the bulls for scenario (2). A flush would also be good for the sustaining continuation of the bull market, the sooner we get one, the better the long opportunities are.”

Bitcoin liquidates $160 million in 24 hours

The latest live data from monitoring resource CoinGlass meanwhile put 24-hour crypto liquidations at $470 million at the time of writing.

Related: ‘Pretty ordinary stuff’ — Traders seem unfazed by Bitcoin correction

Bitcoin accounted for $160 million of the total, with Ethereum (ETH) at $120 million.

The April monthly close, despite coming prior to BTC/USD dipping below $60,000, nonetheless meant that April 2024 was the pair’s worst month since the pit of the 2022 bear market.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.