Bitcoin fell below $66,000 by early afternoon in the United States as this week’s crypto sell-off accelerated and turned into a bloodbath on Thursday.
The largest cryptocurrency fell more than 10% in the past 24 hours to a session low of $65,156, according to CoinDesk data, the lowest level since October 2024 and below the 2021 high.
February 5 could be one of the worst days in Bitcoin history. BTC is poised for its biggest one-day drop – 10.5% since midnight UTC at current prices – since November 8, 2022, when the collapse of crypto exchange FTX sent BTC below $16,000 after a 14.3% drop for the day.
Crypto wasn’t the only asset class under relentless selling pressure. Silver also plunged 15% during the day and is now almost 40% below its record high from just a week ago. Gold also fell more than 2.8% to $4,820, but that selloff was not as severe as silver’s. The precious metal is now trading around 15% below its record high from last week.
Software stocks, which often move in lockstep with bitcoin, continued to sell off, with the iShares Expanded Tech-Software thematic ETF (IGV) down more than 3% and 24% year to date. The tech-heavy S&P 500 and Nasdaq were also down 1%.
Crypto stocks have not been spared either. Coinbase (COIN), Galaxy (GLXY), Strategy MSTR), and BitMine (BMNR) fell more than 10%, while several crypto miners, including Bitfarms (BITF), CleanSpark (CLSK), Hut 8 (HUT), and Mara (MARA), posted similar losses.
“A big factor is the very low liquidity,” said Adrian Fritz, chief investment strategist at 21shares. “If there is a little selling pressure, that usually triggers a lot of liquidation.”
In a fragile market environment, with only a few buy and sell orders to cushion trades, even modest selloffs can trigger a significant price reaction, in turn triggering further liquidations.
While some say the worst is over in weeks, Fritz thinks otherwise.
“There is still no sign that we have hit bottom. I think it is too early. There is no confirmed recovery,” he said.
He points to the 200-day moving average – currently between $58,000 and $60,000 – as a key support level to watch. This level also corresponds to the “realized price” of Bitcoin, or the average cost basis of all Bitcoin holders, which he believes could provide strong support over several years.
Read more: Bitcoin may fall further. Historical data shows $60,000 will be the lowest level
Altcoins decimated
Bitcoin’s performance might seem minor compared to the sharp sell-off in altcoins.
Almost all prices on the CoinDesk Index, including major tokens and memecoins, are down more than 10% in the past 24 hours.
XRP, which fell 19% over the same 24-hour period, underperformed most other large-cap cryptos.
While Fritz said he believes there is no specific trigger that puts further pressure on the token, he said that “from a technical standpoint, there aren’t a lot of support levels for XRP.”
Read more: Here’s what industry veterans are saying as bitcoin falls below $70,000
