Bitcoin price has experienced a sharp decline, causing concern among investors. The BTC price has dropped to $86,586, down 8.71% in the last 24 hours. This sudden Bitcoin crash has led to massive liquidations in the cryptocurrency market, raising questions about what triggered this downturn.
Trump’s Tariff Escalation Sparks Market Uncertainty
One key factor behind the Bitcoin price crash is the recent escalation of tariff threats by former U.S. President Donald Trump. On February 24, Trump announced that sweeping tariffs on Canada and Mexico would take effect next week, ending a temporary pause.
This follows his earlier executive order on February 1, imposing 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods and an additional 10% duty on Canadian energy.
The re-escalation of trade tensions has contributed to uncertainty in global markets, affecting investor sentiment. As a result, Bitcoin, which is often seen as a risk-sensitive asset, has been impacted. The BTC price fell to $86,200 during Tuesday’s early European trading session, extending its losses from the previous day. The market reacted to the news with a series of liquidations totaling $1.34 billion, wiping out approximately 367,500 traders, according to Coinglass data.
Bybit Hack Adds Pressure on Bitcoin Market
The Bitcoin price crash was also influenced by last week’s security breach at the Bybit cryptocurrency exchange. Funds worth $1.4 billion were stolen, causing Bybit to lose around $2 billion in Bitcoin from its reserve, as reported by CryptoQuant.
A total of 20,190 BTC was withdrawn from Bybit’s reserve from Friday to Tuesday, reaching levels last seen in early March 2024.
The Bybit hack increased market anxiety, leading to more withdrawals as investors moved their assets to safer platforms. This contributed to the decline in BTC price, adding to the selling pressure already triggered by the tariff news. Despite assurances from Bitcoin proponents that the hack was linked to Ethereum’s vulnerabilities, the resulting market volatility affected Bitcoin as well.
Massive Liquidations and Bearish Sentiment
The Bitcoin price crash has caused a wave of liquidations across the cryptocurrency market. According to CoinGlass, nearly 390,000 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours, resulting in a total loss of $1.59 billion. Most of these liquidations were from long positions, accounting for approximately 90% of the total.
One of the largest liquidation orders occurred on the Justin Sun-affiliated exchange, HTX, where a single trader lost $39.62 million. This represented over 5% of all Bitcoin positions liquidated that day. As the BTC price dropped to $86,000, its lowest level since mid-November, analysts debated whether this was a temporary correction or a sign of a more extended downturn.
Geoff Kendrick from Standard Chartered suggested that BTC price could fall to the low $80,000 range before a potential rebound. He noted, “Before buying the dip is attractive, I think we get a $1 billion ETF outflow day.” Meanwhile, market analyst Ali Martinez warned of a possible drop to $80,000 if Bitcoin price breaks below key support levels.
Will Bitcoin Price Skyrocket $1M
Despite the ongoing Bitcoin crash, some industry leaders remain optimistic about Bitcoin’s long-term value. Binance’s co-founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), suggested that the current dip is just a step toward higher valuations, even predicting a future Bitcoin price of $1 million. He compared the situation to previous corrections, emphasizing that Bitcoin has historically rebounded after significant declines.
Concurrently, Donald Trump’s son Eric Trump amid the Bitcoin crash has urged the holders to buy the BTC as the price plummets. However, on-chain data indicates a decline in Bitcoin network activity, with the number of new addresses dropping to 240,534 daily, the lowest since July 2024. This decrease in network adoption points to weakening demand, which has historically correlated with price declines.
Currently, Bitcoin price is trading at $87,086 with a 24-hour trading volume of $89.1 billion. Analysts are closely watching the $86,000 support level and the potential for a relief rally if BTC price rebounds from the 1-day 200 EMA.
The post Bitcoin Crash: Why BTC Price Suddenly Falling Today? appeared first on CoinGape.
