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Bitcoin Slips Below $70,000 Amid Market Sell-off

Graham Turner

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Bitcoin falls below 70K
Fears are growing that the dip could be a portent of worse things to come for crypto.

Bitcoin has fallen below $70,000 for the first time since November 2024, as the cryptocurrency market endures a broad sell-off of assets. At time of writing on Thursday afternoon, Bitcoin is sitting at $69,363.21.

Analysts have suggested that $70,000 is a key level to watch, warning that the break below it could lead to further losses for the token.

The decline marks roughly a 17% drop this week, putting Bitcoin on pace for its worst week since November 11, 2022, when it fell 20.85%. Other major cryptocurrencies have also suffered heavy losses. Ether has fallen 23% this week, on track to surpass its previous worst weekly loss of 23.91% in November 2022. Solana reached a roughly two-year low of about $88.42 on Thursday, down 24% for the week-to-date.

Market watchers continue to highlight $70,000 as a critical threshold. Liquidations, where traders’ positions are automatically sold as Bitcoin hits certain prices, have added pressure to the market. More than $2 billion in long and short cryptocurrency positions have been liquidated this week as of Thursday, according to data from Coinglass.

Bitcoin’s slide is part of a longer-term decline that began after the token reached an all-time high above $126,000 in October. The cryptocurrency now sits roughly 40% below that peak, with other tokens, including Ether and XRP, off by even greater margins.

The sell-off on Thursday coincided with a broader risk-off sentiment across global markets. Bitcoin tumbled as low as $69,821 in early New York trading and is hovering around its lowest levels since Donald Trump’s election win in early November 2024.


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While earlier phases of the decline were driven by crypto-specific liquidations, the recent pressure reflects wider cross-asset stress. In the past 24 hours alone, around $722 million of bullish positions across tokens have been liquidated, according to Coinglass.

Skepticism about Bitcoin’s role as a safe haven during periods of market stress is growing. The token is now down almost 20% so far this year, and the broader cryptocurrency market has lost over $460 billion in value in the past week.

Graham Turner

Sub Editor

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