Bitcoin Suddenly Dumped by $3K as Liquidations Hit $200M Hourly: Is the Fed to Blame?

Bitcoin’s rather stable price moves over the past day or so were disrupted after Kevin Warsh finished his speech at Jackson Hole, as the asset slumped by a few grand in an hour.

Its move south dragged many altcoins with it, resulting in over $200 million in liquidated positions at one point, according to data from CoinGlass.

BREAKING: Bitcoin falls -$3,000 in 60 minutes as $200 million worth of levered longs are liquidated. pic.twitter.com/6FuQCUnzeu

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) August 28, 2026

The primary cryptocurrency traded at around $79,500 before the speech began, dipped to $78,500 during, and returned to its starting point after its completion. However, the market reacted in the following hour or so, as it mimicked Wall Street.

During his first speech at the helm of the US Federal Reserve, Warsh remained hawkish while the markets expected him to follow the example set by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Instead, he reaffirmed the Fed’s 2% inflation target and called it “firm and fixed.” He believes the current figures of around 3.7% remain too high.

Although there was no official confirmation that the central bank would hike the rates at the upcoming FOMC meeting next month, the odds on prediction markets increased.

Aside from BTC, most other large-cap alts turned red as well. Ethereum lost the $2,500 level after a 3% decline, while BNB slumped below $700. XRP has lost the most value from this cohort of assets, dumping by 5% to under $1.40.

Further losses are evident from ADA, XLM, and BCH. Bitcoin Cash has plunged by almost 9% daily to under $250.

In the video below, we discussed the potential impact of the Warsh speech on the markets.