Bitcoin’s Impressive Close to Q1 2024, But Beware of April’s Curse

Bitcoin had an impressive finish in March, closing above $70,000 – the highest monthly and quarterly closing prices to date. The leading digital asset by market cap has grown significantly in 2024, with a year-to-date rally of over 57%. This growth has been largely driven by increasing institutional adoption and investor interest.

However, the first day of the new quarter saw a sudden downturn. Bitcoin’s price fell to $69,000 on April 1, leading to over $218 million in liquidations across the digital asset market in the past 24 hours, according to Coinglass.

Understanding the Liquidations

Data from Coinglass reveals that of the $218 million liquidated, $151 million was attributed to long positions being wiped out. The remaining amount stemmed from short positions being liquidated. Liquidations occur when an exchange closes a trader’s leveraged position due to either partial or total loss of the trader’s initial margin.

Bitcoin’s Unfavorable 14th Week

Despite the initial downturn, Coinglass data indicates that Bitcoin is currently down only 2.4% so far in the 14th week of 2024. However, historically, this week has been the least favorable for Bitcoin compared to any other week in the calendar year. Since 2013, Bitcoin has averaged a 4.75% loss during the 14th week. This pattern has made it consistently the least favorable week of the year for the benchmark digital asset. A majority of these negative returns occurred during the years 2013-2015.

In conclusion, while Bitcoin had an impressive first quarter in 2024, historical data suggests caution for investors during the first week of April. As the digital asset market continues to mature, it will be interesting to see if this trend continues or if Bitcoin can break the cycle.