Crypto losses intensified Thursday afternoon as bitcoin fell below the crucial $85,000 support, hitting $84,500 — the lowest in almost three weeks — before a slight recovery.
This decline wiped out BTC’s earlier surge to $89,500 and pulled the entire crypto market down. Ether dipped below $2,800, a 1.1% drop over the last 24 hours, while Solana’s SOL plummeted 4% to under $120, the lowest since April.
Altcoins led the decline, with , , and SUI falling more than 5%, surpassing bitcoin’s 1.6% daily decrease.
The wild fluctuations led to $550 million in liquidations over the last 24 hours in derivatives markets, as per CoinGlass data, impacting both short and long leveraged positions.
The $85,000 level had been a vital support area recently, with BTC finding buyers there repeatedly. Analysts from AmberData, a crypto analytics company, labeled this level as “essential,” noting that a decisive drop could lead BTC towards a deeper correction targeting $80,000, as per their warnings.
Surveys conducted on perpetual swaps markets indicate that funding rates for many altcoins have turned negative, according to CoinGlass data, implying that short positions are compensating long positions to maintain their trades. This suggests a cautious and risk-averse trading sentiment.
However, the lack of a trading volume spike indicates the market is experiencing a “orderly deleveraging,” rather than indicative of panic selling, analysts at AmberData noted.
“The absence of volume surges during sell-offs suggests sellers are depleted instead of new supply surfacing,” they added.
