Data shows that bullish bets on Bitcoin have taken a massive hit, with a huge number of liquidations as the price dropped below $70,000. Bitcoin has fallen under $70,000 for the first time since April, continuing the bearish trend from late May. June started with another decline, pushing the price below $70,000 for the first time since April 7th.
Related Reading: XRP Sees Biggest Exchange Inflow Of 2026—Shortly Before Even Larger Outflows
The chart below shows how this latest bearish move has affected the cryptocurrency. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin has dropped nearly 5%, hitting $69,400. Interestingly, while Bitcoin took a hit, Ethereum—the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap—has held up relatively well, dropping only 0.7% in the same period. Even many altcoins have seen smaller losses than Bitcoin.
The reason for Bitcoin’s bigger drop may be partly due to a rare sale by Strategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin. Meanwhile, Bitmine, which is like Strategy for Ethereum, announced another purchase instead.
Because Bitcoin’s drop over the past day has been significant, it has caught many traders off guard in the derivatives market.
BTC-Related Liquidations Have Crossed $445 Million
According to data from CoinGlass, a large number of Bitcoin-related liquidations have occurred on centralized exchanges over the last 24 hours. “Liquidation” means the forced closure of any open contract after it has lost a certain percentage of its value, as defined by the platform.
As shown in the table below, total liquidations across the digital asset sector have exceeded $800 million. Of these, more than $689 million were long positions, which is over 85% of the total. This high share of bullish liquidations makes sense given the market’s decline over the past day.
Since Bitcoin was hit especially hard during this period, it was by far the biggest contributor to the liquidations. The heatmap above shows that a total of $445 million in Bitcoin contracts were liquidated in the last 24 hours. The share of long liquidations was much higher than the average for the broader market, with over 95% of the contracts being bullish bets.
Related Reading: Ethereum Price Falls, But Whales Push Holdings To 10-Week High
While Ethereum’s price movement has been relatively flat, it still saw $91 million in liquidations, the second-highest after Bitcoin.
Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about the recent Bitcoin price drop and the liquidation of long positions written in a natural conversational tone
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 What exactly happened with Bitcoin
Bitcoins price fell below 70000 which caused a lot of traders who bet the price would go up to lose their money In total about 428 million worth of those bets were wiped out
2 What does long positions wiped out mean
A long position is a bet that the price of something will go up Wiped out means those bets lost value so quickly that the exchange automatically sold them to prevent further losses and the trader lost their money
3 Why did the price drop below 70000
There isnt always one single reason It can be a mix of big investors selling negative news fear in the market or simply a lot of people deciding to take profits after a recent price run
4 Is this a sign that Bitcoin is crashing
Not necessarily A drop below 70000 is significant but Bitcoin has seen much bigger drops before It could be a normal correction within a larger upward trend or it could be the start of a deeper decline Its too early to say its a crash
5 Should I sell my Bitcoin now
That depends on your personal goals and risk tolerance A sudden drop like this can be scary but many longterm investors hold through these dips Selling in a panic often locks in losses Its best to do your own research or talk to a financial advisor
AdvancedLevel Questions
6 What is a liquidation and why did 428 million get wiped out
Liquidation happens when a trader uses borrowed money to open a long position If the price drops too much the exchange automatically closes the trade to protect the lender The 428 million is the total value of those forced closures across all exchanges not just one persons money
7 How does leverage play a role in this kind of event
Leverage amplifies both gains and losses If a trader uses 10x leverage a 10 drop wipes out their entire position The drop below 70000 likely triggered