Bitcoin dropped to $76,471 this morning, sliding from its April 23 peak of $79,321 and touching a 24-hour low of $75,666, a decline of -1.16%. Ethereum followed, retreating to $2,289, down -0.81%. The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI's revenue and new user growth both missed internal targets, triggering a selloff in AI-related stocks and pushing panic into crypto markets.
$189M Liquidated in 24 Hours, 72,126 Traders Caught
According to CoinGlass, total crypto futures liquidations over the past 24 hours reached $189.74 million, impacting 72,126 traders. Long positions accounted for $127.93 million (67.4%), while short liquidations totaled $61.8 million (32.6%), showing longs bore the brunt. The largest single liquidation order occurred on Hyperliquid XYZ-USD, worth $6.51 million.
Four Factors Behind the Slide: OpenAI, Weak Institutional Buying, ETF Outflows, Fed Hold
The pullback was driven by several converging factors:
- OpenAI revenue miss: A April 28 WSJ report revealed OpenAI's revenue and user growth fell short of internal targets, sparking broad selling in AI and chip stocks, dragging down risk assets including crypto.
- BTC momentum fades at $79,400 resistance: After hitting $79,321 on April 23, BTC failed to hold. The Coinbase Premium Index turned negative for the first time since April 8, indicating weakening U.S. institutional spot buying.
- ETF net outflows: Despite monthly net inflows of $2.44 billion in April (largest since October), BTC spot ETFs saw a single-day net outflow of $243 million recently, signaling short-term cooling.
- FOMC holds rates for third time: The Fed kept rates at 3.5%-3.75% in January, March, and April 2026. PCE inflation at 2.8% (core 3.1%) remains elevated, tariffs push up goods prices, and market expectations for rate cuts remain suppressed, limiting liquidity support for crypto.
SOL and XRP Soften
SOL traded at $84.02, down -0.98% in 24 hours, about 6.9% below its recent April 18 peak of $90.32. XRP was at $1.3833, down -1.11%, still holding above the April 15 low of $1.352.
Fear Index Drops to 26, AI Stocks Drag
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell to 26 (Fear), worsening from 33 yesterday and slipping deeper into fear territory after consolidating there for days. In equities, the S&P 500 fell 0.49% to 7,138.80 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.9% to 24,663.80 on April 28, led by AI stock selloffs. Near-term focus is on whether BTC can hold support at $75,666 and if the Coinbase Premium turns positive, along with resumed ETF inflows, as leading indicators for institutional money returning.