Bitcoin fell below $71,000 on the 5th, sliding to $70,342, its lowest level since October 2024. CoinGecko data showed the asset was down 7.9% over the past 24 hours. Ether also weakened sharply, dropping 7.6% to $2,087. The move came as pressure across risk assets intensified and crypto markets moved lower with it.
Liquidations, equities, and ETF outflows weigh on prices
Vincent Liu, chief investment officer at Kronos Research, said the sell-off was not driven by a single catalyst. He said Bitcoin lost a key support level after a failed rebound, which opened the door to a steeper decline. Large long liquidations, a sharp drop in U.S. equities, volatility in technology stocks, and continued ETF outflows all added to the downside pressure. The market turned weak quickly.
Analysts said the pullback does not point to a structural breakdown in crypto itself. Their view is that broader macro conditions are pressuring risk assets across the board, and digital assets are moving within that same pattern rather than trading on crypto-specific factors alone.
Fear and Greed Index drops to 12
Peter Chung, head of research at Presto Research, said current crypto price action is largely tracking the wider market's risk-off mood. With Bitcoin breaking below its yearly low, investor sentiment has fallen to its most pessimistic level since the previous bear market.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, a gauge widely watched for market sentiment, has dropped to 12, placing it in the Extreme Fear zone. That reading points to deeply negative positioning and a market climate dominated by caution.
$70,000 becomes the next level in focus
Looking ahead, Liu said traders will be watching whether Bitcoin can hold the $70,000 level, which now stands as a key psychological threshold. He said signs such as liquidation pressure fading, sentiment improving, and ETF outflows slowing or turning back into inflows would suggest that selling pressure is starting to ease.
Chung also said that even during the current panic, there is still a large information gap between crypto and mainstream investors. In his view, that gap shows adoption of the asset class may still have significant room to expand.