U.Today - The past few days on the crypto market have been anything but pleasant. Total (EPA: TTEF ) liquidations across leveraged positions have approached the $1 billion mark, leaving bulls with the lion’s share of losses.

Bitcoin , naturally at the center of attention, saw its price plunge below the critical $100,000 level amid an imbalance in perpetual futures liquidations that reached an astonishing 1,700%, in favor of long positions. It wasn’t pretty.

What triggered the sell-off?

The answer seems to lie beyond the crypto space itself. The arrival of Deepseek, a Chinese competitor to ChatGPT, made headlines in the AI industry. This new chatbot, reportedly 20 times cheaper to run, ignited a ripple effect through the stock market, wiping $500 billion off Nvidia’s valuation in a single day.

Broader markets, including the NASDAQ, took a significant hit, and the sentiment from this collapse bled into crypto, exacerbating the sell-off.

Then came Jim Cramer

The well-known CNBC personality chimed in with a grim analysis of Nvidia’s massive losses, speculating on the potential implications for the wider market. Yet, as crypto enthusiasts often anticipate, Cramer’s commentary coincided with an unexpected turn of events. Known for the so-called “Inverse Cramer Effect,” his bearish take signaled a local bottom for Bitcoin.

In the hours following, Bitcoin staged an impressive comeback, surging back above $100,000. This sharp rebound was not just symbolic; it triggered an avalanche of short liquidations, with bearish traders seeing their positions wiped out in a 31% liquidation surge.

The market remains fragile, with traders observing the price action of BTC around key levels. As of writing time, it seems that the daily close above $101,300 would give the market a signal that this was not just a shake out, and buyers have some power still.

Otherwise, the turbulence may continue, with more pain awaiting both bulls and bears.

This article was originally published on U.Today