Bitcoin Price Breaks Below $100K, Triggering a Market-Wide Crypto Crash

The past 24 hours have been brutal for the crypto market, with an overall decline of more than 7%. Bitcoin slipped below the crucial $100K level

Cryptocurrency prices crashed on Friday as a sharp sell-off wiped billions off the market value of digital tokens. The downturn began after Bitcoin briefly breached the $100,000 level on Thursday for the first time.

After hitting a high of $100,100 on Bitget, the world's largest cryptocurrency fell as low as $96,100 on Friday, according to CoinDesk data.

Bitcoin was trading down about 4% over the past 24 hours at $97,000 by 00:30 ET (04:30 GMT).

The downturn comes after a period of rapid gains for cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has more than doubled in price so far this year, while other tokens have seen even greater gains.

But the rally has also been accompanied by signs of froth in the market, with some traders warning that prices are becoming overheated and due for a correction.

“The past 24 hours have been brutal for the crypto market, with an overall decline of more than 7%,” a Bitget analyst said on Friday.

“Bitcoin slipped below the crucial $100K level, while Ethereum dropped under $3,000. Altcoins like XRP and Solana suffered double-digit losses as bearish technicals and growing uncertainty pushed the market to the brink.”

Here are the top three reasons behind the latest crypto selloff.

1. Bitcoin Breaks Below $100K – Panic Selling Begins

After hitting a high of $100,100 on Bitget, BTC's price dipped below the $100,000 level on Friday, continuing its downtrend.

If the selling pressure persists, BTC could face lower levels around $92,000 and $90,000. This sharp drop triggered liquidations and drove traders into panic mode.

2. Weak Market Sentiment and Technical Breakdown Cryptos were already showing signs of exhaustion before this crash.

The strong rallies that propelled Bitcoin past $100K and pushed Ethereum toward $3.5K led to profit-taking, increasing selling pressure.

3. XRP Hong Kong Exclusion Adds to Market Woes XRP was the hardest hit among major cryptocurrencies on Friday, falling over 15% after being excluded from Hong Kong's list of approved crypto assets.

This move by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) to legalize crypto trading and exchanges in the city dealt a blow to XRP, as it was not included among the eight "large-cap crypto assets" approved by the HKMA.