The “digital gold” dream is turning into a nightmare for investors. Bitcoin has officially plummeted below the critical $64,000 support level, triggering a massive $2 billion liquidation event as institutional giants head for the exits. With BTC down 20% this week alone and the 365-day moving average shattered, Wall Street is asking: is the crypto story losing its plot? WATCH the full breakdown of the technical carnage and the forecast for a move toward $60,000.
The flagship cryptocurrency has cratered by nearly 20% this week, breaking through critical psychological levels as institutional demand pivots to net selling.
Bitcoin plunged beneath the $64,000 threshold on Thursday as stakeholder reliance continued to diminish in the asset once promoted as “digital gold” and a distinct store of value.
At one juncture, the token slid to $62,303.19, its most depressed level since November 2024. It was last exchanging hands at $63,010.00. Digital holdings, including bitcoin, have retreated further into the red as financiers re-evaluate the practical function of a token that has been heralded not only as a protection against inflation and macroeconomic volatility but also as a substitute for fiat currencies and conventional safe-havens like gold.
Market Performance and Investor Sentiment
That hasn’t materialized lately, since bitcoin topped out just north of $126,000 in early October. The cryptocurrency breached $70,000 earlier in the Thursday session and then the liquidation accelerated, bringing the asset closer in alignment with its pre-election standing. The cryptocurrency is down 20% this week alone.
“This consistent selling in our view indicates that conventional investors are losing interest, and general cynicism regarding crypto is mounting,” Deutsche Bank analyst Marion Laboure stated Wednesday in a memo to clients.
Expanding investor wariness arrives as many of the exaggerated assertions about bitcoin have failed to occur. The token has largely fluctuated in the same direction as other risk-on assets, such as equities, specifically during recent geopolitical and macroeconomic tensions in Venezuela, the Middle East, and Europe, and its implementation as a method of payment for goods and services has been negligible. Currently, bitcoin is down nearly 30% over the past year, while gold has climbed 68% in the same duration.
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Altcoin Contagion and Technical Indicators
Other cryptocurrencies are cratering as well. Ether has retreated 23% this week, on pace for its most dismal week since November 2022, when it tumbled 24%. Solana reached $88.42 on Thursday, approximately a two-year nadir and off 24% on the week.
Some market participants have suggested $70,000 is a vital level to monitor and a breach below that could spark further slides for bitcoin. James Butterfill, head of research at Coinshares, noted $70,000 is developing as a “crucial psychological level,” adding that “if we fail to sustain it, a move toward” the $60,000 to $65,000 territory “becomes quite probable”.
The recent transition in bitcoin arrives amid a worsening retreat in U.S. tech stocks. The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF fell 2.8% Wednesday, one day after shedding 2.2%. Meanwhile, precious metals remain volatile as well, with silver diving again on Thursday and gold under duress.
The Liquidation Crisis
Compulsory liquidations — when traders’ stakes are automatically sold as bitcoin hits a fixed price — continue to burden markets. As of Thursday, more than $2 billion in long and short positions in cryptocurrencies have been cleared this week, according to figures from Coinglass.
Bitcoin has been on a constant slide for more than three months, and is now more than 45% below its October peak. “[The] linear bull run that a lot of people anticipated hasn’t really occurred yet. Bitcoin isn’t trading on excitement anymore, the story has lost a bit of that focus, it is trading on pure liquidity and capital movements,” Maja Vujinovic, CEO of digital assets at FG Nexus, remarked.
While many in the crypto market have previously attributed large institutional participants with upholding the price of bitcoin, now it is those same entities who appear to be offloading. “Institutional demand has pivoted materially,” CryptoQuant mentioned in a report on Wednesday. U.S. exchange-traded funds, which bought 46,000 bitcoin this time last year, are net sellers in 2026.
The report identifies other alarming indicators, noting that bitcoin has broken below its 365-day moving average for the first time since March 2022 and has slumped 23% in the 83 days since the breakdown—worse than the early 2022 bear stage. A moving average monitors the price of an asset over a set number of durations, smoothing out brief price changes to recognize trends. The latest leg lower in bitcoin implies “potential downside toward the $70K–$60K zone”.
