Bitcoin retreated below the closely watched $70,000 threshold, leading a broad selloff in digital assets that has erased over $1 billion in trading positions.
The slump marks the industry’s weakest performance since the onset of the second Donald Trump administration, reflecting a rapid shift in sentiment from post-election euphoria to risk-off capitulation.
Unlike prior drawdowns driven by discrete shocks, traders say this move reflects a grinding erosion of confidence as capital rotates toward equities and commodities, leaving digital assets increasingly sensitive to negative headlines.
Samson Mow, founder of Bitcoin-focused firm Jan3, said the selloff felt especially painful because of its asymmetry.
In comments posted on social media, Mow argued that Bitcoin has struggled to benefit from risk-on narratives but remains exposed to broader risk-off moves. When fears around artificial intelligence valuations emerge, he said, crypto sells off, and when metals retreat, crypto falls alongside them.
On-chain data suggest the decline has been accompanied by a sharp increase in forced selling.
Glassnode reported that Bitcoin’s capitulation metric recorded its second-largest spike in the past two years, signaling a rapid escalation in liquidations and position unwinds. Such stress events typically coincide with accelerated de-risking and heightened volatility as traders reset exposure.
Indeed, the price drop triggered a wave of liquidations in derivatives markets.
Data from Coinglass indicate that more than $120 million in positions were liquidated within a single hour as prices fell through key technical levels.
Long positions accounted for the majority of the damage, with roughly $116 million liquidated, while short positions lost about $6 million.
Bitcoin-linked contracts bore the brunt of the losses, with liquidations totaling more than $86 million. Ethereum traders closed approximately $16 million in positions, while bets tied to Solana and the HYPE token were liquidated for approximately $3 million and $6 million, respectively.
Over a 24-hour period, total liquidations reached approximately $1.06 billion, underscoring the scale of leverage embedded in the market.
Long positions accounted for nearly $900 million of that total, highlighting how quickly bullish positioning can unwind when prices move sharply lower.
