Bitcoin Plunges to $80K, Triggering $650M in Market Liquidations

Bitcoin fell to a multi-month low of $80,000, leading to massive liquidations, wiping out nearly $650 million in the past 24 hours.

Bitcoin (BTC) plunged to a multi-month low of $80,000 on Thursday, triggering $650 million in crypto market liquidations within 24 hours. The sharp decline came amid reports of the U.S. government planning a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, which sparked a 7% drop in the cryptocurrency’s price.

According to the latest data from CoinGlass, crypto traders suffered around $649 million in liquidations in the past day, mainly on Long traders, who faced nearly $500 million in losses, while short traders saw roughly $147 million in liquidations. The largest single liquidation order occurred on Binance’s BTCUSDT pair, with an order of $32.09 million in Long positions liquidated.

The U.S. government's plan to build a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve might be crucial in the coming days, as it triggered a 7% drop in Bitcoin's price. The sell-off came after reports that the plan would not involve new Bitcoin purchases, leading to uncertainty among investors.

Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump directed trade and commerce officials to identify "budget-neutral" avenues for the government to acquire Bitcoin, following a directive from the president to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. However, the president's executive order did not mandate the Treasury Department to purchase new Bitcoin, potentially impacting the administration's ability to influence the cryptocurrency market directly.

The reserve will be composed of Bitcoin already seized by the government, primarily held by the Department of Justice, which has been actively engaged in cryptocurrency forfeiture over the past few years. While this suggests the administration will not be selling any of the seized Bitcoin assets, the lack of a clear buying strategy may ultimately have a minimal impact on the market.

The sharp drop in Bitcoin also pushed the crypto fear and greed index deeper into the "extreme fear" territory, dropping to 17 on Thursday morning. The index, which measures the market sentiment, is now at its lowest point since February, when the crypto market was in the midst of a bear market.

As the cryptocurrency fear and greed index plunges to 17, investors are left wondering if Bitcoin will recover from its recent losses or if more downside is in sight.

Bitcoin fell sharply on Thursday morning, testing the $78,000 support level after a 7% drop sparked by the U.S. government's plan to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

The news, which broke on Wednesday evening, triggered a sell-off in the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin dropping from $86,000 to a low of $80,000. The sell-off also wiped out nearly $650 million in the past 24 hours, according to data from CoinGlass.

However, Bitcoin managed to bounce back slightly from the lows, rising by 2% to reach around $83,400. The slight rebound also pushed the Relative Strength Index (RSI) out of the oversold zone, although it remains weak.

This suggests that sellers could still dominate the market, keeping Bitcoin's recovery in check.

Key Levels to Watch

Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe pointed out that Bitcoin's 12-hour price chart is at a critical level, with two possible scenarios unfolding.

"Two crucial levels to keep an eye on for Bitcoin in the 12-hour timeframe," van de Poppe noted.

"The first is the $78,000 support, which could lead to a drop to $68,000 if breached. On the other hand, a rise above $86,000 could spark a rally to $94,000."

As the dust settles on the U.S. government's plan to build a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, investors are keeping a close watch on how the cryptocurrency market will react next.