The cryptocurrency market has been experiencing a significant selloff over the past two days, resulting in a wave of liquidations totaling approximately $270.4 million in the past 24 hours.

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), the two largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, have both seen substantial declines. Bitcoin has dropped by 3.5% to $67,275, while Ethereum has fallen by 4.6% to $3,495, according to The Block’s price data.

The recent selloff has led to the liquidation of a significant number of leveraged positions. According to CoinGlass, about $270.4 million worth of positions were liquidated, with $238 million being long positions. Ethereum led the liquidation totals with $70.5 million, of which $64.6 million were long positions. Bitcoin followed closely with $68.88 million in liquidations. Binance was the top exchange affected, with $99.7 million in liquidations at the time of reporting.

The GMCI 30, an index tracking the 30 largest cryptocurrencies, dropped by 4.6% to 135.58, marking its lowest level since May 20. This decline reflects the broader trend in the crypto market.

The market downturn comes ahead of critical macroeconomic events, including the release of the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) report and a Federal Reserve monetary policy announcement. These events are contributing to market uncertainty and cautious behavior among traders.

Luuk Strijers, CEO of Deribit, commented on the current market conditions, noting that Bitcoin is more correlated with risk assets than usual. "Traders are likely to be more conservative, potentially reducing exposure or using option strategies to hedge until there is more clarity on the economic outlook. Implied volatility has dropped across the curve for Bitcoin and Ethereum. Despite this short-term uncertainty, the basis yields and call skew remain high, for all listed expiries," Strijers told The Block earlier on Tuesday.

In summary, the cryptocurrency market is facing significant pressure with notable declines in major digital assets and substantial liquidations. The market remains on edge ahead of key economic reports and policy announcements, which are likely to influence future trends and trading strategies.