Bitcoin came under heavy pressure on Thursday as global financial markets turned volatile. Profit-taking in gold, a sharp sell-off in U.S. equities — especially AI-related stocks — and stalled negotiations over U.S. government funding all weakened risk appetite, dragging BTC sharply lower.
Bitcoin’s strong start to the year has now been almost completely erased, with price slipping below the $84,000 mark to its lowest level of the year. However, many analysts view the move as a technical correction rather than a structural market breakdown, driven mainly by aggressive deleveraging in derivatives markets instead of sustained selling in the spot market.
Futures Liquidations Push BTC to Fresh Lows
The latest drop keeps Bitcoin locked inside a trading range that has persisted for more than 10 weeks since mid-November 2025, with weekly closes capped between $94,000 and $84,000. That structure is now being tested again as BTC trades near levels last seen in early December, increasing the risk of a deeper move if buyers fail to defend current support.
Selling pressure intensified during the New York session, with Bitcoin plunging nearly 4.4% from $88,000 to around $83,400. The move wiped out roughly $570 million in long positions, highlighting how heavily leveraged the market was ahead of the decline.
Data from CryptoQuant shows the selling was concentrated and aggressive. Bitcoin’s taker sell volume surged to about $4.1 billion in just two hours across major exchanges, pointing to forced liquidations rather than gradual distribution in the spot market.
On-chain tracker Lookonchain also highlighted the impact on a prominent trader:
“The market just crashed, and #BitcoinOG (1011short) is taking heavy losses on his massive long positions. In just two weeks, he has lost $138 million, with total profits dropping from over $142 million to just $3.86 million.”
A Corrective Phase, Not a Structural Breakdown
From a technical perspective, Bitcoin has already tested the $83,800 level but failed to sustain a meaningful rebound, keeping downside risks in focus. Some analysts now see potential downside targets shifting toward the November low near $80,600.
Market analyst CryptoZeno noted that recent quarterly performance signals a change in Bitcoin’s market structure. After a strong expansion phase in mid-2025, returns have turned negative, down roughly 26% since last July.
Derivatives metrics reinforce this view. On multiple occasions, 8%–10% declines in futures open interest have coincided with clear local Bitcoin price lows, including:
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Late February to March 2025 around the mid-$80,000 range.
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Early April 2025 cycle lows near $78,000–$80,000.
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Mid-November 2025 bottoms around $85,000–$88,000.
These repeated alignments suggest aggressive leverage unwinding, often marking downside exhaustion rather than the start of a prolonged bearish trend.
