New York, Feb 2, 2026, 10:21 EST — Regular session
- Bitcoin slipped close to $74,550 earlier but settled back near $77,800
- Traders cited forced selling from margin calls and renewed concerns about Fed policy
- As Wall Street opened, crypto-linked U.S. stocks and spot bitcoin ETFs slipped lower
Bitcoin found some footing Monday, holding around $77,800 after plunging to its lowest point in 10 months. The price remains well off the October high, weighed down by broad selling pressure hitting risk assets.
This shift is significant because the sell-off is starting to resemble a liquidity crunch, not merely a crypto issue. When losses pile up across markets, investors relying on borrowed funds frequently scramble to liquidate assets quickly to free up cash.
This matters for bitcoin since it trades 24/7 and features in many cross-asset portfolios today, including exchange-traded funds. These funds can facilitate faster selling when volatility surges.
“It’s risk off and de-leveraging,” explained Christopher Forbes, head of Asia and Middle East at CMC Markets, pointing to the unwinding of leverage following a sharp move in crowded trades. Deleveraging means forced cuts to borrowed positions when prices turn against investors. Reuters
Precious metals have taken a sharp hit, dragging other markets down with them. Some traders link the turmoil to a shift in expectations around U.S. policy after President Donald Trump tapped former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to lead the Fed. The nomination has reignited concerns about tighter liquidity and a shrinking central bank balance sheet.
Strategy Inc, a corporate bitcoin holder, revealed in an SEC filing that it purchased 855 bitcoin for $75.3 million during the week ending Feb. 1. This raised its total holdings to 713,502 tokens. The company reported an average purchase price of $76,052 per bitcoin.
Strategy shares dropped roughly 6% in U.S. trading, with Coinbase Global sliding close to 5%. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, a major player among spot bitcoin funds, fell about 7%, mirroring the weekend’s decline in the underlying token.
Bitcoin slipped beneath $80,000 over the weekend amid concerns that a Federal Reserve policy shift might tighten liquidity, Reuters reported Saturday. Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management, cautioned that “price adjustments feed on themselves,” suggesting further selling could unfold in the coming days. Reuters
The road ahead looks rocky. Traders warn that if margin calls—brokers demanding extra collateral as positions drop—persist, Bitcoin could slip back toward the mid-$74,000 range, driven lower by forced selling.
Derivatives traders kept an eye on the premium in regulated futures to measure risk appetite. The March bitcoin contract on CME last traded near the mid-$84,000s.
Next on the docket: macro data will determine if this dip is brief or here to stay. The U.S. employment report arrives Friday, Feb. 6.
Inflation remains a key short-term hurdle. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the January CPI data on Wednesday, Feb. 11.
