Bitcoin Plunges to $61,000, Its Weakest Since February

Bitcoin tumbled overnight to about $61,300 before clawing back toward $62,500, marking its weakest level since February and capping a punishing stretch for the largest digital asset. The slide has wiped out every gain Bitcoin had banked since the start of the Iran conflict, when the token surged above $82,000 by May 11 only to grind steadily lower in the weeks that followed.

The move is now shaping up as Bitcoin's longest losing streak since August, a run that has tested the resolve of traders who had positioned for a continuation of the spring rally. Instead, a combination of bearish derivatives activity, capital rotating into the artificial intelligence trade in traditional markets, and a broader risk-off mood has pushed the price back to ground it last touched several months ago.

A Sharp Reversal From May Highs

The retreat from above $82,000 to the low $60,000s represents a steep unwinding of the optimism that had carried Bitcoin through early May. That earlier advance had coincided with the opening phase of the Iran conflict, a period in which some investors leaned on Bitcoin as a hedge against geopolitical uncertainty. Those flows have since reversed, and the token has handed back all of the ground it gained over that window.

What makes the current episode notable is its persistence. Rather than a single violent shock followed by a snapback, Bitcoin has bled lower across consecutive sessions, building toward what analysts describe as its longest losing streak since August. Extended drawdowns of this kind tend to erode sentiment in a way that sudden flash crashes do not, because each successive red close chips away at the conviction of buyers waiting for a bottom.

Three Billion Dollars in Liquidations

The speed of the decline forced a wave of forced selling across the market. Roughly $3 billion was liquidated over a two-day span as leveraged long positions were unwound, accelerating the move lower as exchanges closed out underwater bets. Cascading liquidations of this size can feed on themselves, with each round of forced selling pushing the price into the next cluster of stop levels and margin calls.

Open interest, a gauge of the total value of outstanding derivatives contracts, fell about 8.5% to roughly $111.4 billion. A drop of that magnitude points to significant deleveraging across the futures complex, as traders either had positions closed out involuntarily or chose to reduce exposure into the weakness. Lower open interest can eventually set the stage for a calmer market, but in the near term it reflects how much speculative froth has been flushed out.

ETF Outflows Add to the Pressure

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the United States have compounded the selling. The products have extended a run of net outflows that stretches anywhere from 11 to 13 days depending on the count, a sustained pattern of redemptions that removes a steady source of demand from the market. When these funds see outflows, the underlying Bitcoin must often be sold to meet redemptions, adding mechanical selling pressure on top of the activity playing out in spot and derivatives venues.

The ETF story matters because these vehicles had been a structural pillar of demand during earlier phases of the cycle. A prolonged stretch of redemptions signals that a segment of institutional and retail allocators is stepping back, at least for now, rather than buying the dip. That shift in posture has helped tip the balance toward sellers during the current slide.

What Is Driving the Sell-Off

Several overlapping forces are cited for the move. Bearish derivatives positioning has left the market vulnerable to downside acceleration, with the structure of futures and options tilted in a way that amplifies declines. At the same time, capital in traditional markets has been rotating aggressively into the AI trade, drawing risk appetite and liquidity away from crypto and toward equities tied to that theme.

Layered on top is a broader risk-off sentiment that has dampened demand for speculative assets across the board. When investors retreat from risk, Bitcoin frequently trades as a high-beta proxy, falling harder than the broader market on the way down. The convergence of these factors has created an environment in which rallies have been sold and dips have failed to attract sustained buying.

The $60,000 Line in the Sand

With Bitcoin hovering in the low $60,000s, attention has turned to the $60,000 area as a closely watched support level. The zone carries added significance because a large Deribit put option sits at the $60,000 strike, concentrating trader interest around that price. Options positioning of this kind can act as a magnet or a battleground, as market participants on both sides of the contract have an interest in how Bitcoin behaves relative to that strike as expiry approaches.

A decisive break below $60,000 could open the door to further downside, while a successful defense of the level might give bulls a foothold to attempt a stabilization. Traders following the action closely can track Bitcoin and the broader pairs market in real time on DEXTools, monitoring how the price interacts with that key zone.

How the Market Got Here

The current drawdown is best understood as the unwinding of a leveraged, sentiment-driven rally that ran ahead of underlying demand. The May surge above $82,000 was powered in part by geopolitical hedging flows and bullish speculation, both of which have since faded. As those tailwinds dissipated, the heavy positioning that had built up during the advance became a liability, leaving the market exposed once the first wave of selling hit.

The combination of $3 billion in liquidations, a sharp contraction in open interest, and persistent ETF redemptions illustrates how quickly conditions can shift when leverage and sentiment turn at the same time. Each of these channels reinforced the others, turning a pullback into the longest losing streak since August and dragging Bitcoin back to levels not seen since February.

What to Watch

The most immediate focus is the $60,000 support area and the large Deribit put anchored at that strike, which together form the line traders are watching most closely. Whether that level holds or gives way may set the tone for the sessions ahead. Beyond price, the pace of US spot ETF flows will be telling, as a halt to the outflow streak would remove a meaningful source of selling pressure, while continued redemptions would suggest demand remains soft. Finally, market participants will be tracking open interest and funding to see whether the recent deleveraging has cleared enough excess to allow for a more stable footing. None of this is financial advice, and no price targets are implied; it is simply a map of the variables shaping the current market.