A sharp reversal from above $106,000 erased early optimism in crypto markets on Friday, leaving bulls and bears locked in a continued stalemate.

What began as a positive session quickly turned sour during U.S. trading hours, with Bitcoin (BTC) plunging from around $106,500 to below $103,000 within hours. By press time, BTC had clawed back some losses to trade near $103,200, down about 1.2% over the past 24 hours.

Other major cryptocurrencies suffered steeper losses. Ethereum’s ether (ETH) dropped 4.5% in just 90 minutes, falling as low as $2,372, while trading volume spiked to nearly 800,000 ETH—roughly eight times the average hourly volume, according to CoinDesk data. Solana’s SOL, Dogecoin (DOGE), and Cardano’s ADA also declined between 3% and 5% during the same period.

The surge in volatility caught many traders by surprise, triggering roughly $450 million in liquidations of crypto derivatives positions across centralized exchanges, data from CoinGlass shows. Of that total, about $387 million came from liquidations of long positions, where traders were betting on higher prices.

Despite persistent macroeconomic risks—including the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran—there was no immediate external catalyst identified for the sharp market swing. Meanwhile, traditional equity markets saw only modest declines, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 edging slightly lower.

Bitcoin Range-Bound

Stepping back, Bitcoin remains trapped in a consolidation phase, oscillating between $100,000 and $110,000, just shy of its all-time highs.

“The mixed view of whether BTC will go above $110,000 again or drop into the $90,000 area doesn’t surprise me at all and underscores the overall indecision people and markets feel,” said James Toledano, Chief Operating Officer at Unity Wallet.

“The present BTC stalemate reflects a market caught between bullish long-term sentiment and short-term macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty,” he added.