Over the past day, the crypto market was hit by a major wave of liquidations. Bitcoin went down again, and traders are increasingly looking at $70,000 as the last important level where buyers can still hold the situation.
The sell-off intensified at the start of the Asian session on Thursday. BTC dropped to $72,600, after which leveraged positions began to be closed en masse across the market. As a result, liquidations exceeded $935M.
Bitcoin fell below $73,000 for the first time in six weeks. On Thursday, BTC/USD dropped to $72,620. Thus, bitcoin completely lost the gains it had accumulated since April 13.
The trigger for the new sell-off was reports of military strikes by the US on Iran. After this, investors began to exit risky assets more quickly, and the crypto market turned negative again.
BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: TradingView
It wasn’t just bitcoin that fell. Major altcoins also dropped, and the total crypto market cap shrank by more than $80B in a day. The hardest hit were traders who bet on growth. In 24 hours, more than $874M in longs were liquidated.
Bitcoin accounted for about $348.5M of these liquidations. For Ethereum, about $228.5M in longs were closed. In total, about $935.6M in long and short positions were liquidated across the market.
Mass liquidations in the crypto market after BTC drop. Source: CoinGlass
The largest single liquidation occurred on Hyperliquid. There, a long position in BTC-USD worth $15.34M was closed.
According to CoinGlass, open interest in bitcoin futures also declined over the day. This was especially noticeable on CME and BingX, where the figure fell by about 9.8% and 9% respectively.
When open interest falls, it usually means traders are reducing leverage and exiting the market. For BTC, this is a negative signal: activity is decreasing and buyers are becoming less confident.
A similar picture was already seen at the beginning of the year. From mid-January to early February, open interest in bitcoin dropped by about 30%, and BTC itself lost about 38% over the same period.
Money continues to flow out of US spot ETFs for bitcoin. Outflows have lasted for eight trading days in a row. During this time, funds have lost about $2.6B. On Wednesday alone, investors withdrew $733M. This is the largest daily outflow since late January.
Capital flows into spot bitcoin ETFs. Source: SoSoValue
Pressure is not limited to American ETFs. Last week, another $1.3B was withdrawn from global bitcoin-based investment products.
While big capital is cutting positions, it is becoming harder for buyers to quickly push the market back up.
The $70,000 Level Becomes Key Support for Bitcoin
In a day, bitcoin lost about 4% and broke through $75,000, which previously served as important support. Now attention has shifted lower.
The first important level is around $73,000. That’s where the 100-day moving average is. The next zone the market is watching is just above $70,000.
See Also: Gold Accelerates Decline After Breaking Key Support
Analyst Nicrypto linked the drop to a new round of conflict between the US and Iran. According to him, news from the Middle East quickly triggered a wave of liquidations.
“We confidently broke the previous support at $75,000 and are now testing the critically important area around $73,000,” the analyst noted.
MN Capital Founder Michaël van de Poppe takes a calmer view of the situation. He believes the decline looks like a typical end-of-month correction, when asset managers rebalance portfolios.
In his opinion, the $71,400–73,400 zone remains key. If it holds, bitcoin still has a chance to stop the decline.
If not, the market will quickly switch to levels below $70,000, where the next major area of buyer interest is located.
BTC/USD daily chart. Source: Michaël van de Poppe
The situation will become much more difficult for buyers if BTC starts closing daily candles below $70,000. Then the market could see another wave of selling.
In this scenario, the next target could be the $65,000 area. That’s where the model, which looks like an inverted V on the daily chart, points.
From current levels, this would mean another 11% drop.
BTC/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView
After losing the $74,000–76,000 zone, the next important level for BTC is the $70,500 area.
That’s where the market is now waiting for the first signs of serious demand. If buyers do not appear, pressure on bitcoin could intensify even further.
