Bitcoin (BTC) plunged below $64,000 on Thursday during a brutal selloff that erased post-election gains.
The cryptocurrency hit a session low of $63,549 on Binance before recovering slightly to $63,750, down 5.55% over 24 hours.
Ethereum (ETH) collapsed below $1,900, trading at $1,871 after touching $1,868 at the time of writing.
The decline accelerated through successive support levels as forced liquidations triggered cascading sell pressure across derivatives markets.
Bitcoin fell to its lowest level since October 2024, wiping out gains accumulated since Donald Trump's election victory.
Read also: Treasury Secretary Bessent Blasts Crypto "Nihilists" Resisting Market Structure Bill
What Happened
Leveraged traders faced a bloodbath as positions collapsed across major exchanges. Data shows total liquidations reached $1.82 billion in 24 hours.
Long positions accounted for $1.62 billion of the liquidations as bullish bets unraveled. Short liquidations totaled just $199 million, confirming the one-directional nature of the selloff.
The cascade began when Bitcoin broke below the $70,000 psychological level earlier Thursday. Analysts had identified the $65,000-$70,000 range as containing dense liquidation clusters that could amplify downward moves.
Ethereum's decline mirrored Bitcoin's trajectory, falling 4.59% as altcoins sold off broadly. The second-largest cryptocurrency briefly traded below $1,870 before stabilizing slightly above that level.
Why It Matters
The liquidation event ranks among the most severe since the FTX collapse in November 2022. Over 172,000 traders had positions forcibly closed as margin requirements breached critical thresholds.
Bitcoin has now fallen approximately 48% from its October 2025 peak above $126,000. The selloff has pushed the cryptocurrency out of the global top 10 assets by market capitalization.
Market sentiment has deteriorated sharply, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropping to 15, indicating extreme fear.
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $817 million in outflows in a single day, highlighting weakening institutional demand.
Read next: Tom Lee's BitMine Faces $6-8B Loss As Ethereum Falls Below $2,000
