NEW YORK, Feb 5, 2026, 01:03 EST
- Bitcoin fell as much as 7.5% over the past 24 hours, hitting lows near $70,700 in Asian trading
- The broader crypto market has shed about $467.6 billion in value since Jan. 29, CoinGecko data showed
- More than $700 million in leveraged crypto bets were liquidated over the past 24 hours, CoinGlass data showed
Bitcoin slipped below $71,000 in Asian hours on Thursday as a renewed slide in global technology stocks bled into crypto markets, cutting short hopes that last week’s violent swings were settling down. The world’s largest token fell as much as 7.5% over the past 24 hours and touched lows near $70,700 before paring some losses, CoinDesk data showed.
The move matters now because crypto has been trading like a turbo-charged version of the equity risk trade again — falling when tech falls, and falling faster. After a week of whipsaws, some traders had been leaning on the idea that panic selling was largely done.
Instead, the selling found a new reason. Worries about whether the AI boom is paying off — and how much it will cost — have pushed investors out of crowded tech names, and crypto has followed them out the door.
In markets, the AI hangover showed up in earnings and spending plans. Google parent Alphabet flagged capital expenditure — money spent on items like data centers and equipment — of $175 billion to $185 billion this year, well above analyst expectations, while chipmaker AMD tumbled 17% after its results.
The slide comes after Bitcoin broke below $73,000 earlier in the week, hitting its lowest level in nearly 16 months. It sank as low as $72,884.38 on Tuesday and is down 16% year-to-date, a repost of a CNBC report said, while bitcoin proxy Strategy was down 9% on the day.
Across the market, the damage has piled up. Total crypto market value has fallen by $467.6 billion since Jan. 29, according to CoinGecko data cited by Bloomberg, and Bitcoin hit a 15-month low of $72,877 in the United States before rebounding on Wednesday.
“Asia morning sentiment is cautious and defensive,” Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets, said in that report. “Bitcoin printing sub-$73,000 has pushed sentiment into extreme fear,” she added.
Part of the pressure is mechanical. In the perpetual futures market — leveraged derivatives that do not expire — exchanges force-close positions when collateral runs out, a process known as liquidation. More than $700 million in bullish and bearish bets were liquidated over the past 24 hours, taking the total since Jan. 29 to more than $6.67 billion, according to CoinGlass data cited by Bloomberg.
Flows into U.S.-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds have also been jerky rather than supportive. After about $562 million of net inflows on Monday, investors pulled $272 million on Tuesday, Bloomberg-compiled data showed.
The selloff is also reopening an old argument about what Bitcoin is supposed to be during stress. Bitcoin’s drop has raised doubts about the “digital gold” pitch, after it failed to draw steady haven demand during a period that has also seen sharp swings in precious metals.
One risk is that a clean break lower could feed on itself. “The sequence of lower local highs and lows indicates that selling on the rise prevails in the markets,” Alex Kuptsikevich, FxPro’s chief market analyst, wrote in a note. https://www.fastbull.com/news-detail/bitco…
For now, traders are watching whether equity markets stabilise after the tech shock — or keep dragging crypto around by the collar. The next round of big-company earnings and central bank decisions is likely to set the tone for risk appetite into the weekend.
