Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) hovered just above 15-month lows on Wednesday after an aggressive sell-off drove the cryptocurrency briefly toward the $73,000 mark, triggering a wave of liquidations amid a broader pullback in risk appetite.
The world’s largest digital asset was last down 2.8% at $76,509.1 as of 01:56 ET (06:56 GMT), after earlier touching $73,004.3—its weakest level since November 2024.
Following the weekend slump, Bitcoin has now fallen nearly 12% over the past week, coming on top of a roughly 10% decline the week before. The move pushed prices to their lowest point since Donald Trump’s U.S. election win, effectively wiping out gains that had been driven by optimism around possible regulatory easing for the crypto industry.
Bitcoin hits 15-month low as liquidations accelerate
The downturn was accompanied by widespread forced selling in leveraged markets. According to data from crypto analytics firm CoinGlass, close to $740 million in bullish positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours as falling prices triggered margin calls and compelled traders to exit long bets.
The weakness marks a sharp reversal from the rally seen late last year, when Bitcoin surged in the aftermath of Trump’s election victory. At the time, investors had flocked to cryptocurrencies on expectations that a new U.S. administration might adopt a more accommodating regulatory approach toward digital assets. Additional support had come from Federal Reserve interest rate cuts that began in December 2024, which lifted demand for higher-risk investments.
More recently, however, sentiment has shifted. Gold and other traditional safe-haven assets rebounded on Wednesday amid escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran. At the same time, crypto markets are contending with renewed uncertainty over U.S. monetary policy after Trump nominated former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair. Warsh is widely regarded as hawkish, raising concerns about future liquidity conditions.
Crypto prices today: altcoins fall harder, Cardano down 6%
Losses across the broader crypto market were even steeper than Bitcoin’s. Most major altcoins traded lower, extending the sector-wide weakness.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, slipped 2.3% to $2,268.92, while XRP edged down 1.1% to $1.59. Solana dropped 6%, with Cardano also sliding around 6%, and Polygon falling roughly 3.5%.
Among meme coins, Dogecoin was marginally lower, down 0.2%.