Bitcoin’s relentless slide continued Thursday as the cryptocurrency plunged to $84,416, marking its lowest point in six weeks. The digital asset tumbled 6% from 24-hour highs above $90,000, sending crypto traders into a frenzy. Not exactly the moon shot Bitcoin maximalists had been promising.
The selloff triggered a massive $1.68 billion in liquidations across crypto markets, with long positions making up a staggering 93% of the carnage. Ouch. It’s one of the largest leverage flushes since the post-ETF rally of 2024, and plenty of speculators are feeling the pain right now.
Trading volume surged to $48 billion as panic selling took hold. Bitcoin’s market cap shrank to $1.72 trillion, shedding 4% in a single day. Meanwhile, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $818 million in outflows. Investors running for the exits? Sure looks like it.
The damage could’ve been worse. Bitcoin touched $81,000 on January 30, briefly flirting with even deeper losses before recovering slightly. Technical analysts are watching the $84,000 level like hawks now. If that breaks, projections suggest we could see $76,000 to $83,000 in the coming days.
This marks quite a reversal from January’s optimism when Bitcoin briefly topped $95,000. The six-month high of $123,081.80 now seems like a distant memory. Funny how quickly sentiment changes in crypto.
Market watchers blame macro uncertainty and the Federal Reserve meeting for the sudden shift. Major exchanges including Hyperliquid and Bybit reported the highest liquidation figures, with $598 million and $339 million respectively. Whale activity turned cautious, with long-term holders trimming positions. Classic crypto – when everyone thinks it’s going to the moon, the floor falls out.
Despite the bloodbath, network fundamentals remain unchanged. Bitcoin’s supply inflation sits at just 0.85%, a reminder that beneath the price chaos, the protocol chugs along unchanged. The drop represents a significant deviation from Bitcoin’s long-term upward trend that has historically defined its growth potential.
All eyes now turn to the February 2 White House meeting on U.S. crypto legislation. The meeting will include banking and crypto executives to discuss potential regulations for dollar-pegged stablecoins. For now, though, the market seems content to flush out excessive leverage and reset expectations. The crypto rollercoaster continues.
