BTC Drops to $81,000 Level, Sparking $1.7 Billion Liquidation Wave
The leading cryptocurrency tumbled to its lowest level in nine months amid mounting geopolitical risks, tariff announcements, and disappointing technology sector results, leading to massive forced closures of leveraged positions.
The price of Bitcoin has descended to a nine-month low, touching $81,000 and sparking liquidations worth billions of dollars in the past 24 hours as heightened tensions in Middle Eastern regions and renewed tariff warnings from US President Donald Trump prompted widespread sell-offs among market participants.
The world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Bitcoin (BTC), reached a low point of $81,058 on the Coinbase exchange during Friday's early trading hours, marking its weakest level since April, data from TradingView indicates. The digital asset has experienced a 35% decline from its October all-time peak of $126,000.
According to data compiled by CoinGlass, approximately 270,000 market participants faced forced liquidations during the previous 24-hour period, with aggregate liquidations totaling $1.68 billion. An overwhelming 93% of these forced closures involved leveraged long positions, with Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) accounting for the predominant share.
The flagship cryptocurrency now finds itself at a critical monthly support level following its descent to a nine-month low. The broader digital asset market selloff has erased approximately $200 billion from the total market capitalization during the last 24-hour trading period.
Geopolitical tensions and tariffs tank markets
The cryptocurrency's decline coincides with the United States deploying an additional warship to Middle Eastern waters as tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to escalate, with Trump indicating his intention to engage in dialogue with Iran.
"We have a lot of very big, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now, and it would be great if we didn't have to use them," Trump told reporters Thursday.
On Thursday, Trump additionally declared a national emergency and executed an executive order that would impose tariffs on all goods originating from nations that sell or supply oil to Cuba, generating additional anxiety among market participants.
Precious metals also experienced selling pressure, with gold declining 9% from Thursday's record high of $5,600 per ounce, while silver has undergone an 11.5% correction.
Tech earnings and AI market fears add to selloff
According to Jeff Mei, chief operations officer at the BTSE exchange, underwhelming technology sector revenue reports played a significant role in the market downturn.
"Last night's market dip had a clear correlation to Microsoft's earnings flop," he told Cointelegraph.
Shares of Microsoft plummeted 10% on Thursday, representing the company's most severe single-day drop since March 2020, following the disclosure of unprecedented spending levels and decelerating growth in cloud sales.
"Investors are worried that a broader pullback in AI-related tech stocks will affect the market as a whole, and some are derisking their portfolios," he said.
"We think the dip was relatively overblown as cryptocurrencies have already declined since October, and that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies remain at an attractive price with limited downside."