Bitcoin experienced a significant decline, slipping below the $71,000 mark during Asian trading hours on Thursday. This downturn coincided with a renewed selloff in global technology stocks, dampening hopes for a sustained recovery in the cryptocurrency market following last week’s volatility. The world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped as much as 7.5% within 24 hours, reaching lows near $70,700 before recovering some losses, according to data from CoinDesk.
The decline in Bitcoin prices followed sharp decreases in Asian equities, where concerns about artificial intelligence spending, high valuations, and waning earnings momentum led investors to distance themselves from riskier assets. The MSCI Asia tech index fell for the fifth time in six sessions, driven down primarily by losses in South Korea’s Kospi, which saw a decrease of approximately 4%. These moves were mirrored by a drop in the Nasdaq during U.S. trading hours, where disappointing earnings from major companies, including Alphabet, Qualcomm, and Arm, reinforced worries that investments in AI might be plateauing faster than anticipated.
In recent weeks, Bitcoin has been trading increasingly like a high-beta risk asset during equity market drops, particularly during periods of low liquidity and rising macroeconomic uncertainty. This latest selloff follows a brief fluctuation earlier this week when Bitcoin fell toward $73,000 before rebounding above $76,000. Some traders interpreted this movement as indicative of fragile market confidence rather than a definitive shift in trend.
Wenny Cai, COO at Synfutures, commented on the situation, stating that the move below the low-$70,000 range has accelerated a wider deleveraging process, which has involved the liquidation of crowded positions established during the post-ETF rally. She mentioned that heavy liquidations have contributed to a risk-off sentiment, with market movements now more influenced by balance-sheet mechanics than prevailing narratives. Cai emphasized that while this does not indicate the end of institutional participation in the market, it does reflect a loss of complacency among investors.
The pressure on cryptocurrencies was exacerbated by volatile movements in commodity markets. Silver plummeted by as much as 17%, while gold dropped over 3%, continuing a severe unwind that has led to substantial liquidations in tokenized metals products on crypto trading platforms. This confluence of events exemplifies the interconnectedness of asset classes and the ongoing turbulence in financial markets.
