Bitcoin price plunges below $80,000 as $1.6b liquidation wave intensifies selloff

Bitcoin on Saturday dropped below $80,000 per coin for the first time since April as a crypto selloff intensified.

The biggest and oldest cryptocurrency was recently priced at $79,113 after dropping 4% over a 24-hour period, according to CoinGecko.

Over the past week, it has dropped by more than 11%. Year-to-date, the leading digital asset is also down 11%.

The selloff comes as investors this week pulled nearly $1.5 billion out of US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, according to data from Farside Investors. The funds, managed by the likes of BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale, offer investors quick and easy exposure to the cryptocurrency.

Intensifying the price dip is futures traders getting liquidated. Over the past 24 hours alone, $1.6 billion in positions have been closed, according to Coinglass. The vast majority of those positions were longs — traders betting on the future prices of digital assets going up.

Government shutdown — again

Outflows from the funds have intensified in recent weeks as fears around geopolitics and a US government shutdown.

The US government shut down partially Saturday in what is expected to be a brief event. President Donald Trump this week said he’d work with Democrats to prevent a long government closure.

But last year’s shutdown hurt crypto prices — and they have struggled to recover since.

Bitcoin’s price was also hurt earlier in the week on a tech stock selloff. Crypto markets have moved with equities since last year.

Ethereum also took a hit and was trading for nearly $2,401 — a 24-hour dip of more than 12%. Other major coins and tokens experienced big drops too, with XRP and Solana dropping 10% and 11%, respectively.

Crypto market movers

• Bitcoin is down 4% over the past 24 hours, trading at 78,904.
• Ethereum has dropped harder and is down nearly 12% past 24 hours at nearly $2,396.

What we’re reading

• Iranians tap decentralised networks to reveal depths of chaos as thousands revolt: ‘Living in hell’ — DL News
• Who is Kevin Warsh and what will Trump’s Fed chair pick mean for Bitcoin — DL News
• Trump moved fast to cut a funding deal. It’s a striking change from the last shutdown fight — AP
• The onchain credit boom is our next big bet in crypto — Milk Road

Mathew Di Salvo is a news correspondent with DL News. Got a tip? Email at mdisalvo@dlnews.com.