Bitcoin punched through a critical support level Thursday morning, dropping below $70,000 for the first time since November 2024 as institutional investors who once fueled the rally turned into sellers. The move, which happened around 6:27 a.m. ET, sent the cryptocurrency tumbling to $69,332 and triggered over $2 billion in liquidations across crypto markets this week. With bitcoin now trading 40% below its October all-time high above $126,000, analysts warn the breakdown could accelerate losses toward the $60,000-$65,000 range as the 365-day moving average support crumbles.
Bitcoin's descent below $70,000 on Thursday morning marks more than just another price milestone - it's a technical breakdown that's sending alarm bells through crypto trading desks. The cryptocurrency briefly touched $69,332 around 6:27 a.m. ET, breaching what many analysts consider a make-or-break support level. James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, didn't mince words about what comes next. "$70,000 is a key psychological level," he told CNBC, adding that "if we fail to hold it, a move toward the $60,000 to $65,000 range becomes quite likely." The break comes as bitcoin sits roughly 40% below its October 2024 all-time high above $126,000, with altcoins like ether and XRP suffering even steeper losses. But it's not retail panic driving this sell-off - it's the institutions. CryptoQuant delivered a stark assessment in a Wednesday report: "Institutional demand has reversed materially." The numbers tell the story. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs, which hoovered up 46,000 bitcoin at this time last year, have flipped to net sellers in 2026. These same funds were supposed to provide the steady institutional bid that would smooth out bitcoin's notorious volatility. Instead, they're contributing to it. The cascading effect is brutal. More than $2 billion in long and short cryptocurrency positions have been liquidated this week alone, according to Coinglass data. Liquidations happen when exchanges automatically close out leveraged positions as prices hit certain thresholds - and each liquidation adds more selling pressure that triggers more liquidations. It's a feedback loop that can accelerate price declines rapidly. The technical picture is equally grim. "Bitcoin has broken below its 365-day moving average for the first time since March 2022 and has declined 23% in the 83 days since the breakdown - worse than the early 2022 bear phase," CryptoQuant analysts noted. That March 2022 reference isn't random - it marks the start of the brutal crypto winter that saw bitcoin eventually bottom near $15,500 by November of that year. The broader market context isn't helping. Thursday's crypto selloff follows a sharp decline in U.S. tech stocks on Wednesday that rippled through risk assets globally. Precious metals are showing similar stress, with silver plunging 12% and gold under pressure as investors flee volatile assets. "Bitcoin isn't trading on hype anymore, the story has lost a bit of that plot, it is trading on pure liquidity and capital flows," Maja Vujinovic, CEO of digital assets at FG Nexus, explained on CNBC's Worldwide Exchange. That's a polite way of saying the narrative that carried bitcoin to six figures has evaporated. The bull case that drove institutional adoption - inflation hedge, digital gold, portfolio diversifier - hasn't delivered during this stretch of market turbulence. Instead, bitcoin is trading like a leveraged tech stock. What looked like rock-solid institutional support just months ago now appears to have been fair-weather interest. When the broader market turned choppy, those institutional flows reversed. The "straight line bull run that a lot of people expected hasn't really materialized," as Vujinovic put it. Now traders are watching to see if the $70,000 level holds on a closing basis or if bitcoin will test deeper support zones. The $60,000-$65,000 range represents the next major support cluster where buyers might step in. Below that, some analysts eye the $55,000-$58,000 area where bitcoin consolidated before its late-2024 rally. For context, bitcoin was trading around $72,000 just two weeks ago. The speed of the decline has caught many off guard, particularly given the institutional participation that was supposed to reduce volatility. Instead, it appears institutional money moves just as fast - or faster - than retail when sentiment shifts.
The breach of $70,000 isn't just a number - it's a signal that bitcoin's market structure has fundamentally shifted. With institutions pulling back, leveraged positions unwinding, and technical supports crumbling, the cryptocurrency faces a critical test. Whether this marks a temporary shakeout or the start of a deeper correction will depend on whether buyers emerge at these levels or if the selling pressure continues to push bitcoin toward the $60,000s. For now, the momentum is firmly to the downside, and the burden of proof rests on bulls to reclaim $70,000 and rebuild confidence. The coming days will reveal whether this was capitulation or just the beginning of a longer journey lower.
