Bitcoin slid below $65,000 after a sharp selloff driven by heavy liquidations, weak sentiment, and ETF outflows amid global market volatility.
Losses spread across the crypto market, wiping nearly $2 trillion in value since October, with Ether also falling sharply.
Experts say the drop reflects a broader risk-off mood tied to tech stock weakness, geopolitical uncertainty, and tight monetary policy expectations.
Bitcoin fell sharply on Thursday, slipping below the $65,000 level and unsettling investors across global markets. The world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped as much as 17% during the day, hitting a low of $63,295.74, its weakest level since October 2024. It was last trading around $63,525, down 12.6%, and was headed for its steepest single-day fall since November 2022.
So far this year, Bitcoin has lost nearly 28% of its value. The decline has been driven by heavy selling, weak investor sentiment and large withdrawals from Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to a report by The Economic Times. Pressure from falling technology stocks, sharp swings in global metal prices and uncertainty around future interest-rate moves by the US Federal Reserve also added to the downturn.
3 February 2026
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Selling accelerated as leveraged traders were forced out of their positions. Bitcoin liquidations crossed $1 billion over the past 24 hours, Reuters reported, citing data from CoinGlass.
Notably, the prices of Bitcoin began weaking in mid-January amid geopolitical tensions, including the US' capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and US President Donald Trump's comments on Greenland, according to a report by Forbes.
Market sentiment around cryptocurrencies has weakened as fresh selling pressure emerged in both precious metals and equities. Gold and silver have seen heightened price swings lately, largely due to leveraged trades and speculative activity, according to Reuters.
Bitcoin, meanwhile, has long moved in tandem with the broader technology sector, often gaining when investor excitement around themes like artificial intelligence picks up.
Joshua Chu, co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association told Reuters that Bitcoin's recent slide should not be seen as the end of the asset class. "Bitcoin moving back toward the $60,000 level doesn't mean crypto is collapsing. It reflects the cost of investors and funds treating it as a one-way bet without proper risk management." He added that similar sharp corrections have been seen in so-called safe-haven assets such as gold and silver when leverage and market narratives outpaced fundamentals.
Losses were widespread across the crypto market. The total market value of cryptocurrencies has dropped by nearly $2 trillion since peaking at $4.379 trillion in October, CoinGecko data showed. About $800 billion has been wiped out in the past month alone. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, fell over 13% to around $1,854, and is down 19% this week and nearly 38% so far this year
Commenting on the matter, VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments said that there is a "risk-off sentiment" in global markets.
"Bitcoin has crashed to below $ 64000. Silver is down to $71 from the recent peak of 121. Even the safe-haven gold has turned weak despite huge uncertainty in global geopolitics. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has been steadily weakening and is now 6% down from its peak," he added.
"The selloff in tech and AI stocks and a departure from AI trade would be good for India in the medium-term, but for that further weakening of the AI trade is required. So, watch out for the trend in AI stocks. FIIs again turning sellers in India and increasing their short positions in the derivative markets indicates further weakness in the market in the near-term," Vijayakumar further said.
"A positive trigger for the market in the form of rate cut from the RBI MPC is unlikely today since the MPC is expected to hold rates. Any change in the stance also is unlikely. However the tone of the policy can be dovish and the central bank may revise the growth targets for FY27 upwards improving sentiments," he said.
