LONDON, Feb 4, 2026, 20:29 GMT
Bitcoin slid to a 15-month low near $72,000 on Wednesday as a broad selloff hit risk assets, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 down more than 2%.
The drop has stretched a steep week for digital tokens. Total cryptocurrency market value has fallen by $467.6 billion since Jan. 29, CoinGecko data showed.
Forced selling is adding to the chop. CoinGlass data showed $2.56 billion of bitcoin positions were liquidated in recent days — liquidations are when exchanges close leveraged trades after losses eat through margin. “People taking a step back” is how Kaiko analyst Adam McCarthy put it, while Charles Schwab’s Jim Ferraioli warned the “biggest risk” was coming from “outside forces.” Trade Nation’s David Morrison said investors “were looking for an excuse to lighten up.” Reuters
Some buyers showed up after the dip. Bitcoin was trading around $76,391, and Akshat Siddhant, lead quant analyst at Mudrex, said a likely end to the U.S. government shutdown could “trigger a relief rally,” while warning “downside risks remain” with traders watching a big round-number level. The CoinSwitch Markets Desk said bitcoin was “consolidating” near $76.5K, and WazirX founder Nischal Shetty pointed to “liquidity conditions” driving short-term moves. The Economic Times
The spillover has been visible outside crypto markets. Crypto-linked stocks including Coinbase, Strategy, Circle and Gemini have each fallen at least 15% over the past five trading days, and CNBC’s Jim Cramer called $73,802 a “line in the sand.” Investopedia
The backdrop matters because it is testing a familiar pitch: that bitcoin can act like a hedge when broader markets wobble. This week, it has behaved more like a high-volatility wager that tracks shifts in risk appetite.
The near-term risk is simple and ugly. If the slide resumes, more leveraged positions can be forced out and push prices lower in a hurry, especially when liquidity thins.
The upside case is just as plain. If the selling in wider markets eases and fresh money keeps coming into regulated products that track bitcoin, the bounce could extend — but it would still be happening inside a nervous market.
