Bitcoin's price fell below $70,000 for the first time since November 2024, driven by market pressures and ETF outflows.
Bitcoin's price dipped below $70,000 for the first time since November 2024, reaching a low of $70,119 on February 5, 2026. Ethereum also experienced a decline, falling to $2,079.
The drop coincided with a significant liquidation volume of $953 million, predominantly from long positions, which accounted for $792 million of the total. Vincent Liu, Chief Investment Officer at Kronos Research, attributed the price decline to a breach of crucial support levels, exacerbated by the liquidation of long positions, sell-offs in the U.S. tech sector, and capital outflows from spot ETFs.
This negative trend extended to the stock market, with Coinbase shares down 6.14% and mining firm BitMine's stock falling by 9.17%. The Nasdaq Composite Index also saw a decrease of 1.51%.
Peter Chang, head of research at Presto Research, noted that the current market correction is driven by broader macroeconomic factors rather than issues within the cryptocurrency sector. Investor sentiment has plummeted, dropping to 12 points on a popular sentiment indicator, suggesting "extreme fear." He advised focusing on the long-term potential for digital asset adoption amidst the noise of market fluctuations.
Some analysts compared the current situation to the aftermath of a significant incident on October 10, 2025, when a database failure at Binance led to delayed transactions and a $19 billion liquidation cascade. Binance acknowledged the technical issues and compensated affected users with over $283 million. Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly, pointed out that the liquidity crisis during that time showcased a lack of buying power while liquidation processes continued as normal.
Market makers are expected to take time to recover from these recent events. Qureshi emphasized the absence of built-in safeguards in crypto exchanges, which are primarily structured to protect against insolvency.
Additionally, unverified reports of a $9 billion Bitcoin sale by a Galaxy Digital client have stirred market speculation, linked to concerns about quantum computing. However, Alex Thorn from Galaxy Digital dismissed these theories, clarifying that quantum concerns were not the primary reason behind Bitcoin's current weakness. K33 Research analyst Vetle Lunde also indicated that an 80% drop from Bitcoin's peak is unlikely.
