Frank Rondel
Bitcoin briefly dropped below the $70,000 mark on Thursday during a continued sell-off across risk assets, touching the level for the first time since November 2024, reports customreceipt.com via CNBC. The move occurred at around 6:27 a.m. ET, according to market data, before the cryptocurrency recovered part of its losses.
After slipping under the threshold, bitcoin rebounded modestly and was trading near $70,453.68 by 6:40 a.m. ET, based on figures from CoinMetrics. Market participants have been closely monitoring the $70,000 level, which several analysts consider a critical technical support zone, warning that a sustained break below it could accelerate further declines.
The price movement followed a sharp sell-off in U.S. technology stocks on Wednesday, a downturn that extended into digital assets. At the same time, volatility remained elevated across other markets, with silver falling again on Thursday and gold also coming under pressure, reflecting broader uncertainty among investors.
Forced liquidations continued to weigh on the cryptocurrency market. Liquidations occur when leveraged trading positions are automatically closed after prices hit predefined levels. According to data from Coinglass, more than $2 billion worth of both long and short cryptocurrency positions had been liquidated this week as of Thursday, adding to downward pressure on prices.
Bitcoin has been trending lower since reaching an all-time high above $126,000 in October. The asset is now trading roughly 40% below that peak, while losses among other major cryptocurrencies have been even steeper. Ether and XRP have both declined significantly more over the same period.
Maja Vujinovic, CEO of digital assets at FG Nexus, said expectations of a sustained, uninterrupted rally have faded. Speaking on CNBC’s “Worldwide Exchange,” she noted that bitcoin is no longer driven primarily by hype, but instead by liquidity conditions and capital flows in the broader financial system.
While large institutional investors have often been credited with supporting bitcoin’s price in recent years, recent data suggests those same participants are now contributing to the downturn. CryptoQuant said in a report published Wednesday that institutional demand has “reversed materially.”
According to the report, U.S. exchange-traded funds that collectively bought around 46,000 bitcoin at this point last year have become net sellers in 2026. CryptoQuant also highlighted a key technical development, noting that bitcoin has fallen below its 365-day moving average for the first time since March 2022.
CryptoQuant analysts said the cryptocurrency has declined 23% in the 83 days since breaking below that long-term average, a drop described as more severe than the early phase of the 2022 bear market. Based on these trends, the firm warned of potential further downside, pointing to a possible move toward the $70,000–$60,000 range.
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