(Feb 6): Bitcoin sank in early Asia trading on Friday, extending a selloff that had already erased all the gains booked by the token since President Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory.
The original cryptocurrency fell as much as 4.8% to a fresh low of US$60,033 ($76,490.75) on Friday morning, after hours earlier plunging to its lowest level since October 2024, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It later pared those losses and was up by more than 2% to over US$64,400 by 9.12am in Singapore.
Other tokens also fell sharply before rebounding. solana was at one point down as much as 14%.
Cryptocurrencies have been on the back foot ever since a brutal series of liquidations in October sapped market confidence. The selling has picked up steam this week in line with the unwinding of leveraged bets and broader market turbulence.
“There’s very little appetite to step in front of this move, particularly given how liquidation-driven the selloff has been,” said Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets. “Repeated failures to hold support levels have shifted behaviour.”
See also: The coming crypto apocalypse
About US$2.3 billion of leveraged long bets across all cryptocurrencies were liquidated in the last 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data.
Bitcoin hoarders are among those feeling the pinch. In an earnings announcement Thursday, Michael Saylor’s Strategy Inc confirmed a net loss of US$12.4 billion for the fourth quarter, driven by the mark-to-market decline in its vast holdings.
Traders are now focused on whether bitcoin can hold US$60,000, Lucas said. A failure to do so “could see downside in the mid-US$50,000 range”, she added.
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